Peter Lebeck
Peter Lebeck (died 17 October 1837, sometimes written Lebec or Lebecque) was an early settler of Kern County, California. The only certain information known about him is that he was killed by a bear, probably a California grizzly, and buried underneath a valley oak in 1837. The tree he was buried under is known as the Peter Lebeck Oak. He is attested only by his grave marker, now at Fort Tejon, but the unknown circumstances of his identity and death have cemented his position in the culture of the San Joaquin Valley. He represents the earliest known victim of a bear attack in California. Background Historical Modern-day California in the 1830s was part of the Mexican state of Alta California, initially half of the Spanish province of Las Californias (along with Baja California.) Europeans first made contact with coastal California in 1542, but the inner Tulare Valley was not explored until 1776. Anglo-Americans began to enter the area in 1826. The lower Central Valley was still politically dominated by Yokuts-speaking people. Brown bears in California The California grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) is an extinct population of the brown bear which was formerly common across California. It was larger and