<Li> mendocinensis Merriam, 1916 </Li> <Li> tularensis Merriam, 1914 </Li> <P> The California grizzly (Ursus arctos californicus) is an extinct subspecies of the grizzly, the very large North American brown bear . "Grizzly" could have meant "grizzled" (that is, with golden and grey tips of the hair) or "fear - inspiring". Nonetheless, after careful study, naturalist George Ord formally classified it in 1815--not for its hair, but for its character--as Ursus horribilis ("terrifying bear"). Genetically, North American grizzlies are closely related; in size and coloring, the California grizzly was much like the grizzly of the southern coast of Alaska . In California, it was particularly admired for its beauty, size, and strength . The grizzly became a symbol of the Bear Flag Republic, a moniker that was attached to the short - lived attempt by a group of American settlers to break away from Mexico in 1846 . Later, this rebel flag became the basis for the state flag of California, and then California was known as the "Bear State ." </P> <P> A 1953 researcher stated, "The specific status of North American brown bears (or grizzly bears) is one of the most complex problems of mammalian taxonomy . The difficulty stems directly from the work of Merriam (1918), who concluded that there are 86 forms of grizzlies (and brown bears) in North America ." </P>

What kind of bear is the california flag