In 1995, Craig Byrnes (member of the Chesapeake Bay Bears, Washington, DC and known to many bears of this area as Mr. Baltimore Bear Cub '93 und Mr. TBLC of Virginia '94), thought it might be fitting to design a flag that would best represent the bear community, since there was no "official" flag yet. After drawing and sewing four variations, Craig presented those prototype flags at the "Bears of Summer" events of the Chesapeake Bay Bears in July of 1995.
Bears were asked to put a quarter in the appropriate box to vote for the flag that they liked best. The money was donated to the Chesapeake Bay Bears to add to their AIDS fundraising collections.
The winning flag shows a simple design: a field of horizontal stripes with a paw print in the upper left corner. The colours represent the fur colours and nationalities of bears throughout the world (here the animals are meant).

Craig Byrnes always was very serious about getting the flag out and visible. He had been very generous about donating flags to bear clubs, but you also could buy the flags from him. His company "Bear Manufacturing" became the nameplate for a whole line of bear-focused products.
Early in 2002 Craig Byrnes announced that he does not intend to follow up on the trademark so that the International Bear Brotherhood Flag can be used free by the bear community. Craig Byrnes also closed his company "Bear Manufacturing".

The first bear flag
This flag was designed already in 1992. It was carried by marchers in the 1992 Gay Pride Parades in Denver, Russian River and San Francisco. It was also carried at the March on Washington in 1993. Additionally, it was presented at Bear Expo 1993 and 1994 and also at International Bear Rendezvous 1995.
The flag has been trademarked by the Front Range Bears of Denver, Colorado.

The "Bear Pride Flag"
This flag was presented on June 18, 1995 at the bar "Spags" in Seattle, Washington. The colours of this flag represent the earth and the bears that live on it.
The golden sun in the form of a bear paw stands for the spirit and the bear community. The stripes have the following meanings: Blue stands for the sky, White for snow bears, Black for black bears, Brown for brown bears and Green for the earth.

The californian bear flag
This flag is used by the bear community of San Francisco.
Only the bear is left of the original flag of the state of California. The star and the text "California Republic" have been removed. The big red stripe of the original flag was replaced by stripes in the colour of the rainbow.

The canadian bear flag
Here the maple leaf of the original flag of Canada has been replaced by a bear paw.

The association "Berliner Bärenfreunde e.V." (Friends of the Berlin bear) was founded in 1994. The association aims to cultivate the 700-year-old tradition of the Berlin bear. (The Spreebären do the same, but in a different way.)
The association collects information about the Berlin bear which is the heraldic animal of Berlin and which is shown on the official seal of Berlin. Another aim is to find all Bears which appear in the city in many artistic forms and to take photos of them.
The association also supports the bears in the bear pit in the "Köllnischer Park" near the "Märkisches Museum" in Berlin-Mitte.
For more information and a look at the photos see http://www.berliner-baerenfreunde.de/web/