what state has the highest population of bears
Grizzly bear There are currently about 55,000 wild grizzly bears total located throughout North America, most of which reside in Alaska.[9] Only about 1,500 grizzlies are left in the lower 48 states of the US.[30] Of these, about 800 live in Montana.[31] About 600 more live in Wyoming, in the Yellowstone-Teton area.[32] There are an estimated 70â€“100 grizzly bears living in northern and eastern Idaho. Its original range included much of the Great Plains and the southwestern states, but it has been extirpated in most of those areas. Combining Canada and the United States, grizzly bears inhabit approximately half the area of their historical range.[9]
California grizzly bear 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".[1] 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").[2] Genetically, North American grizzlies are closely related;[3] 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."[4]