Less than 75 years after the discovery of gold, every grizzly bear in California had been tracked down and killed. It killed livestock and interfered with settlers. As humans began to populate California, the grizzly stood its ground, refusing to retreat in the face of advancing civilization. Before dying out in California, this largest and most powerful of carnivores thrived in the great valleys and low mountains of the state, probably in greater numbers than anywhere else in the United States. The California grizzly bear (Ursus californicus) was designated official State Animal in 1953. Photo credit: “California red-legged frog (Threatened)” by Robert Fletcher, Ohlone Preserve Conservation Bank, is licensed © CC BY 2.0 Animal It is now found primarily in coastal regions from Marin County to northern Baja California. Fish and Wildlife Service listed it as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. ![]() It has lost 70 percent of its former habitat range, and in 1996, the U.S. Recent development and competition from invasive species have also been hard on the California red-legged frog. ![]() Perhaps best known for its probable appearance in Mark Twain’s short story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” the California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) is the largest native frog in the western United States and is almost exclusive to California.ĭuring the Gold Rush, miners ate nearly 80,000 frogs per year.
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