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Schwarzenegger Buys Grizzly Statue For Capitol

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Apr 7, 2009 7:32 pm US/Pacific

Schwarzenegger Buys Grizzly Statue For Capitol

SACRAMENTO (AP) ― Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has added an extra layer of security outside his Capitol office: a massive bronze statue of a grizzly bear.

The 250-pound statue was placed in the hallway Tuesday.

The governor spotted the bear while strolling by an art gallery on a recent fundraising trip in Aspen, Colo., and decided to buy it, said his spokesman, Aaron McLear.

"He thought that the school kids here would get a kick out of having their picture taken in front of it," McLear said.

The grizzly bear adorns the state flag and is the official state animal, although it has been extinct in California since 1922, according to the state Department of Fish and Game.

The artist, Steven Bennett of Greensboro, N.C., said he was wondering what Schwarzenegger planned to do with the hulking statue after he heard from the gallery that the Republican governor had bought it.

"Tell Arnold, 'Thank you very much,"' Bennett said Tuesday when he learned of the bear's prominent new home inside the California Capitol. "And if he wants anything else, I'll be happy to make it for him."

Bennett, 55, said he does many commissioned works and particularly likes bears.

McLear said the governor bought the statue with his own money. Both he and Bennett declined to comment on the selling price.

(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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