Winnipeg
Carson B.
Today we are going to talk about my favorite yellow bear named Pooh. Did you know that Winnie the Pooh is one of Disney’s most successful properties? When you were young you probably loved Winnie the Pooh and his friends- maybe even had stuffed animals, movies, and books based on Winnie the Pooh. Well, you can thank a little bear named Winnipeg for that. Winnipeg was a little bear from Canada, land of the maple leaf. Many people know who Winnie the Pooh is, but not many people know that he is based off of a real bear named Winnipeg. Before the bear was known by millions as Winnie the pooh she was known by thousands as Winnipeg. It all started on August 24, 1914. On August 24,1914 a bear was born in Ontario, Canada. She was a female American black bear. She recently celebrated her 111th birthday on August 24, 2014. She became an orphan when a hunter killed her mom. The hunter took her White River to sell her. She was bought for twenty dollars by
lieutenant Harry Colebourn, a veterinarian. She was named after Colebourn’s hometown of Winnipeg, Canada. She became the mascot of the Canadian Army Veteran Corps. She also became a pet to the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade Headquarters. In these times many people had pet bears. They were just as common as dogs or cats in some places. Reportedly Winnipeg didn’t like honey as portrayed by her yellow counterpart, but she did like condensed milk more than raw meat. Winnipeg followed Colebourn to Valcartier and to England. When Colebourn had to go to France he made arrangements for Winnipeg to stay at the London Zoo.
Winnipeg was a little bear from Canada, land of the maple leaf.Many people know who Winnie the Pooh is, but not many people know that he is based off of a real bear named Winnipeg. Before the bear was known by millions as Winnie the pooh she was known by thousands as Winnipeg. It all started on August 24, 1914. On August 24,1914 a bear was born in Ontario, Canada. She was a female American black bear. She recently celebrated her 111th birthday on August 24, 2014. She became an orphan when a hunter killed her mom. The hunter took her White River to sell her. She was bought for twenty dollars by lieutenant Harry Colebourn, a veterinarian. She was named after Colebourn’s hometown of Winnipeg, Canada. She became the mascot of the Canadian Army Veteran Corps. She also became a pet to the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade Headquarters. In these times many people had pet bears. They were just as common as dogs or cats in some places. Reportedly Winnipeg didn’t like honey as portrayed by her yellow counterpart, but she did like condensed milk more than raw meat. Winnipeg followed Colebourn to Valcartier and to England. When Colebourn had to go to France he made arrangements for Winnipeg to stay at the London Zoo.
Though Winnipeg is no longer with us she left a lasting impression on Children and Adults throughout the world. On August 21, 1920 Christopher Robin Milne was born. For his first birthday he had a party at the London Zoo and his favorite animal was Winnie. He renamed his favorite bear he had just gotten from Edward to Winnie. He added Pooh because it was the name of his favorite swan that he had. Christopher Robin was once allowed in Winnie’s cage to give her condensed milk, her favorite food. Billy Moon, as he later called himself, was Winnipeg’s biggest fan. His father A. A. Milne wrote stories of Winnie and Christopher Robin’s friendship. These stories are how most people know of Winnie. Other character’s included in the stories were based on Christopher Robin’s other toys. Tigger the tiger, Eeyore the donkey, Piglet the pig, Kanga and Roo the Kangaroos, Rabbit “long ears” the rabbit, and Owl the owl. The hundred acre wood, where Pooh and his friends live, is based on Ashdown Forest
in southern England which is located near where the Milne family lived. A. A. MIlne’s books about Winnie the Pooh became a huge success. As Christopher Robin got older he began to resent the books because he felt like his dad had exploited his childhood for personal gain. When A. A. Milne died on January 31, 1956 he left the rights to his books to four benefactors his family, the royal literary fund, Westminster school, and the Garrick club. His wife sold her rights to the books to Stephen Slesinger. When Slesinger died his wife sold the rights to the Disney company. The Disney company made many movies, television shows, and merchandise based on Winnie the Pooh and his friends. Forbes magazine ranked Winnie the Pooh the most valuable fictional character in 2002. Disney almost lost rights to Winnie the Pooh in 2003. Analysts believe that Pooh is responsible for between 3 billion and 6 billion dollars of Disney’s 25 billion dollar annual sales.
To this day you can find Winnie the Pooh merchandise, books, and movies at disney, on amazon, or at other retailers. You can even find some of the movies on Netflix or Amazon Instant Video. At Disney Winnie the Pooh has his own ride. This ride tells the story of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh movie. Including but not limited to, heroes day, the rainy rainy day, the windy day, and Pooh’s dream. In this ride you are taken through the story, featuring illustrations of modern pooh and giant pages based on the books and movies, in giant honey pots, Pooh’s favorite snack. They recently remodeled the waiting que of this ride, now you can go in Pooh’s house, swipe through the honey to find Pooh’s friends, play on the drums based on things from Rabbit’s garden, and even take the bees back to the hive. When this ride breaks down, which it does frequently, you are greeted by Tigger’s friendly voice reminding you to stay seated, telling you that ride will be fixed shortly, and wishing you a wonderful day. I hope I’ve helped you learn all the details about Winnipeg and Winnie the Pooh from the history to the modern day experience.
Bibliography-
"A. A. Milne." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Oct. 2015. Web. 05 Nov. 2015. Elliott, Zetta. "Fun Facts About the Real Winnie-the-Pooh and His Friends." New York Public Library. New York Public Library, 4 Oct. 2015. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.
McNamee, Gregory. "Advocacy for Animals." Advocacy for Animals Remembering Winnipeg the Bear Comments. Ency clopædia Britannica, 4 Oct. 2015. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.
Rogers, Lisa Waller. "Lisa's History Room." Lisas History Room. Word Press, 22 Feb. 2009. Web. 05 Nov. 2015. Rao, Hasini. "WINNIE THE POOH QUOTES." WINNIE THE POOH QUOTES. Blogger, 4 Oct. 2015. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.
"Winnipeg (bear)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Oct. 2015. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.
"Winnie-the-Pooh." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Oct. 2015. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.
"Winnie the Pooh." RSS. Pop Sugar, 4 Oct. 2015. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.