Worst Idea Ever

By Rithvik Manthena, Grade 5

Picture this: a husband, a wife, and a 12-year-old go on a hike in the woods for summer vacation, and the son says, “Hey! Is that Freddy Fazbear’s twin brother?” In a millisecond, the bear lunges forward and bites the parents and the boy’s head off and rips their body to shreds. Their family’s dream vacation becomes their absolute nightmare. Although grizzly bears went extinct more than a hundred years ago in California, there is currently a campaign underway to reintroduce grizzlies back here, which has spiked many arguments. I strongly disagree with bringing grizzlies back to California because it is utterly stupid. First of all, they are dangerous to humans, and finally, the population of humans in California has increased by ten times since grizzlies last lived here.

Supporters of the grizzly reintroduction plan say we should bring them back because they might help the ecosystem. According to a KQED article, “Brown bears would assist with seed dispersal and soil aeration as they tear into the ground hunting for gophers and voles. Coastal grizzlies would move nutrients upstream and inland via their consumption of spawning salmon.” This idea would cost lots of money, which could be used on lots of things like the lack of water in California, the cost of housing, gas prices, health care, and education. And finally, the forests seem okay even without the grizzlies. We have many other large predators already, like coyotes and cougars.

Secondly, the population has increased by ten times in the last 100 years in California. So this idea is absolutely stupid. According to the same article, “Grizzly bears traditionally would roam oak woodlands and even beaches and eat whale carcasses and whatnot,” says California Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Jordan Traverso. “So you’d be introducing them in places where people are now.” This shows that since there are a lot more people in California than 100 years ago, it’s going to be pure chaos.

My final reason is that this entire idea is plain dangerous. In Alaska in 2011, a group of teenage campers got attacked by a grizzly and a camper named Berg got his head chomped. According to a Reader’s Digest article, “With a horrific roar, it goes straight for Berg’s head, chomping down on his skull with an audible crack.” Do you want this to happen to you while hiking? Obviously not!

Although it’s unfair to the grizzlies that they went extinct 100 years ago, I was not alive back then and didn’t shoot any of them. So, it would be really unfair for innocent people who might get killed if they are reintroduced to California.