Brown bears once roamed throughout the western half of North America, from the Arctic to central Mexico. There are approximately 150,000 brown bears in the world today. Less than 1,000 brown bears remain in a few isolated pockets of the lower 48 United States, their possible range reduced by over 99%. The brown bear is California's state symbol, yet brown bears have not roamed freely here since the early 1920's at which time the last known wild brown bear was killed. The greatest cause of declining brown bear population is loss of habitat. Habitat loss is a direct result of our increasing demands upon the land, its resources and human intolerance of bears. Art cards available of this image. Send e-mail for details.