Bay Curious The Bear on the California Flag
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Mar 19, 2026 Katherine Monahan, a reporter who investigated the story of the bear on California's flag. She visits museum mounts, traces sensational capture tales, and parses historical art and records. The story unravels myths about Monarch and points to another bear, Samson, as the likely visual model. The piece also reframes how grizzly histories are told and what the bear symbolizes today.
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Hearst Hired A Reporter To Capture Monarch
- William Randolph Hearst commissioned reporter Alan Kelly to capture a live grizzly for publicity in 1887.
- Kelly's lurid Examiner stories described heroic trapping, dramatic transport, and naming the bear Monarch as an advertisement for the paper.
Monarch Spent His Life On Display In San Francisco
- Monarch lived decades in San Francisco attractions from Woodward's Garden to the 1894 World's Fair and Golden Gate Park menagerie.
- Photographs and accounts show him often caged, overweight, depressed, and later euthanized after paralysis in 1911.
Bear Flag Origins And Early Variations
- The original 1846 Bear Flag used a crude bear silhouette by Sonoma rebels and became a symbol of strength and resistance.
- By 1911 legislators mandated a brown walking bear but left appearance vague, causing many variations.