Los Osos de Los Osos
a photo project

by

Matt Carlton & Lucy Clark

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The town of Los Osos, CA (pop. 15,000) prides itself on its bear statues and other bear-themed landmarks. After all, los osos is Spanish for "the bears." California grizzlies ruled the area until 1772, when Lieutenant Pedro Fages led an expedition to kill the bears for food. Their efforts saved two nearby Missions from starvation but decimated the grizzly population.
We decided to photograph the many bears of Los Osos. We hope you enjoy our pictures. Click on any of the thumbnails below for a full-sized picture; a slightly less brief description accompanies each photograph.

01 - bear statue on LOVR	02 - welcome sign on LOVR	03 - bear statue on South Bay Blvd.	04 - welcome sign on South Bay Blvd.
05 - 10th Street mural	06 - sign at 10th Street mural	07 - 76 station mural	08 - sign at 76 station mural
09 - totem pole at Ralph's	10 - Los Osos Valley nursery	11 - Sea Pines country club	12 - carved bench
13 - bear head carvings	14 - fisherman bear	15 - medium-sized wooden bear	16 - house-climbing bears
17 - bear in a chair	18 - fishing fireman bear	19 - three fishing bears	20 - small ceramic bear