Say No to Grizzlies in California

By Aarav Reddy Chilukuri, Grade 5

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Imagine this: there is a young father and mother in the mountains of California. Suddenly, there is a grizzly bear coming out of nowhere … CRUNCH! I think you know what happens next. Although grizzly bears went extinct from California over 100 years ago, there is currently an effort underway to reintroduce them to California. This proposal has caused many disagreements. I strong disagree with this savage, barbaric idea of bringing grizzlies to California because they are dangerous to humans and they’ll just end up being hunted again.

Supporters of the grizzly reintroduction plan say we should bring bears back because Native Americans want them. “It’s important people to realize that the grizzly bear isn’t just a symbol on a flag - it was real animal that shaped California’s ecosystems and holds deep meaning for tribal nations across the state,” said Tejon Tribe Chairman Octavio Escobedo III, who contributed a foreword to the feasibility study. While the Native American peoples’ opinion matters, the amount of possible dangers when grizzlies come back outweigh the positive things that will happen.

The idea of bringing back 300-600 pound grizzly bears to an innocent population is plain treacherous. In 2011, seven unsuspecting teenage boys were hiking in the woods when they were attacked by a humongous, scary bear. They almost died. According to a Reader’s Digest article, “He had time only to turn around and scream, ‘Bear!’ before the grizzly closed the space between them, rising on its hind legs - towering 7 feet tall and weighing ab out 500 pounds - lunging and flattening him. With a horrific roar, it went straight for Berg’s head, chomping down on his skull with an audible crack.” Do we want this tragedy to happen again? If grizzly bears return there will definitely be newspaper articles saying “kid’s head gets chopped off by grizzly bear” and more things like that. Also, with all the problems in California already, like people not being able to afford homes, if we add grizzlies to the mix, we are COOKED. Like, mega-cooked.

Sadly, if grizzly bears come back because of this ludicrous and outlandish idea, humans won’t just be affected. The grizzlies would be affected, too. According to a KQED article, “The last hunt of the California grizzly occurred in Tulare County in August 1922. These hunting behaviors quickly led to a decline in the grizzly population, and within about 75 years of settlers’ arrival, the animal was declared extinct.” If grizzly bears went extinct because of encounters with humans with a California population of 4 million in 1922, imagine today’s population of 40 million heavily armed people ready to encounter grizzly bears in broad daylight!

Although bringing back grizzly bears seems like a really nice idea, we have to face the reality of this. We should focus more on other problems in California and make California a better place overall. So, repopulating California with grizzly bears is just threatening and plain bad!

Did you know that grizzly bears went extinct in California in 1922, but that lawmakers have been debating whether to reintroduce them to the Golden State? My fifth grade students researched the issue, analyzed the pros and cons, and wrote passionate opinion essays on the subject. Here are two of their essays:

‍ ‍Worst Idea Ever

By Rithvik Manthena, Grade 5

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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.

This spring, we completed a unit on “fables.”

Students read classics, like “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” and “The Tortoise and the Hare,” and then they were challenged to create their own original fables.

Since all fables have morals, I suggested that they take inspiration from their personal pet peeves. Here is some of the hilarity that ensued . . .

“The Fox and the Beaver”

By Ansh Shah, Grade 8

Once upon a time, Fox, Beaver, Crow, and Rabbit were sailing across a blue lake.

“Oh God! The ride is so boring,” Fox thought. “I may as well talk to one of these fellows. Not like it will benefit me but it shall just as well pass the time.”

The very learned fox tended to boast about his acquired knowledge to anyone who would listen.

“Hey! You there!” The fox pointed at the beaver. How is your day going?”

The beaver replied simply, “What is a goodie gang?”

Fox groaned inwardly to see the beaver, dumber than an ass, converse with Rabbit on subjects he didn’t understand.

“Dear beaver, have you read any books?” The fox asked in a polite tone.

“Don’t think I have,” Beaver replied. “I know not how to read nor write.”

“Ah, then a full quarter of life has been wasted,” the arrogant fox rebuked. “Very well then, thou must be educated upon animal species.”

“Well, not too much, sir,” Beaver replied nervously.

“Half of thy life… vanished in but a moment!” The fox exclaimed with surprise. “Yet, you must be educated upon our beloved history…?”

“Never ‘eard of it,” Beaver said calmly.

“Three quarters of your life… wasted! Might as well kill yourself and decrease the surplus population,” Fox arrogantly stated. The beaver lowered his head. Tears came to his eyes.

At that moment, a storm came and rocked the boat over. Crow screeched and flew off, saving himself. Rabbit hopped lily pads to safety. The beaver asked the fox, “My dear sir, I hope you know how to swim.”

“Nooo I don’t!” The fox cried out in panic and fear.

The beaver calmly said, “Don’t know how to swim? Then your whole damn life is gone, foxy!”

And with that the beaver swam off, saving himself, leaving the fox to drown.

The moral of the story is “Mental knowledge is not enough. One must acquire physical knowledge as well.”

-Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“Doug and The Fox”

By Max Halim, Grade 8

It was a cold afternoon as the animals went one-by-one into the garden to pick food. The friendly farmer had opened his garden to the animals for that day only so no creature would go hungry over the long winter. At the end of the long line was Fox. It had been a long day for him, and his wife had sent him to run a few errands before it got too dark.

 “Let's just get this over with. I can almost smell the rotisserie chicke– I mean steamed vegetables from here.”

A chicken looked at him funny. 

As the line grew shorter and shorter, the fox started to get more impatient. “Why is the line so long?”

Fifteen minutes passed and Fox started to get worried. The garden closed in an hour and if he came home empty-handed, his wife would not be happy.

Unfortunately, in that line was Doug the Sloth. Now Doug was not the sharpest tool in the shed, and was known to make really, really, long decisions. And, unfortunately for Fox, today was just one of those days. Doug first took a good 15 minutes to get a good look at all his choices, and another 15 trying to decide whether he wanted tomatoes or cucumbers in his salad. Fox was having none of this.

After another 10 minutes of time wasting, Fox went up to Doug and started to chew him out for being so slow.

 “People have things to do, man, and waiting in line is not one of those things!” Fox exclaimed.

“Errrrrrm, it's not my fault you guys came so late,” Doug droned. The crowd started rioting.

Just then, the farmer came out. 

“What is all this ruckus?”

“Doug here takes so damn long to decide that none of us get anything,” Fox explained.

“Is this true?” The Farmer asked Doug.

“Uhhh, I don’t know, man.”

“If you can’t make a decision, then I’ll make it for you.”

The Farmer gave Doug a moldy carrot and kicked him out.

So, the moral of the story is to not take too long to make decisions. If you already do, I hope you have a miserable life.