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.