Famous Bears
In this section I am going to give a mention to other bears you may have heard of. Not all of them are travelling bears but I will start with this most famous travelling bear of all - perhaps even the first one who arrived on these shores with only a suitcase and a hat to his name.. Some of these bears will be actors, some will be real but all of them are quite well known in the bear world.
Paddington Bear
Paddington really is the original travelling bear and it would be fair to say that all us other travelling teddies see him as a bit of a pioneer. He was found at Paddington station in West London having arrived stowed away on a lifeboat from Peru. In Peru he was sadly orphaned following an earthquake and when his Aunt got too old to look after him, he was sent on a boat to England for a better life.
He was found at Paddington by the Brown family sitting all on his own on a suitcase, probably excited and a little scared from the busy station. Around his neck was a tag which read "Please look after this bear. Thank you". So that is what the Brown family did.
Paddington now has his own bedroom in a house in Notting Hill. He often frequents Portabello market as he has a very good eye for a bargain. When Paddington arrived, all he had was his red hat, which was given to him by his Uncle in Peru, and his battered brown suitcase that has a secret compartment for his important papers. His Duffel Coat was given to him by the Browns.
Paddington famously likes marmalade but recently he has shown a bit of a liking for Marmite too ( I believe his thoughts on Vegemite are still unknown)
For more info on Paddington, check out his own website here: The original Travelling bear
He was found at Paddington by the Brown family sitting all on his own on a suitcase, probably excited and a little scared from the busy station. Around his neck was a tag which read "Please look after this bear. Thank you". So that is what the Brown family did.
Paddington now has his own bedroom in a house in Notting Hill. He often frequents Portabello market as he has a very good eye for a bargain. When Paddington arrived, all he had was his red hat, which was given to him by his Uncle in Peru, and his battered brown suitcase that has a secret compartment for his important papers. His Duffel Coat was given to him by the Browns.
Paddington famously likes marmalade but recently he has shown a bit of a liking for Marmite too ( I believe his thoughts on Vegemite are still unknown)
For more info on Paddington, check out his own website here: The original Travelling bear
Rupert The Bear
Rupert is a very iconic bear and stories have been told about him for nearly 100 years and still lives with his parents in Nutwoods. He is best friends with a Badger, which is quite unusual for us bears. In a way, Rupert can also be described as a travelling bear as he tends to end up going to many fantastical places when all he intended to do was to get some milk for his mother, or some silimar chore. Really, us teddy bears are not really suited to such chores so it is hardly surprising he was easily distracted.
Rupert has been the subject of comic books, TV shows and even Video games but throughout he has kept to his own individual sense of style. I admire him for that as not every bear can pull off those yellow chequered trowsers.
He, too has his own website here: Rupert
Rupert has been the subject of comic books, TV shows and even Video games but throughout he has kept to his own individual sense of style. I admire him for that as not every bear can pull off those yellow chequered trowsers.
He, too has his own website here: Rupert
Gentle Ben
Gentle Ben is actually the lead charcter from a book but I think most people will know him from his TV series. He is not really a travelling bear but a real life acting Black Bear called Bruno in real life. He is very well behaved and often out performed the human actors on the show.
I cannot remember much about the programme itself but they always seemed to be zipping around the Florida Everglades on hover boat type thing (that's the technical name for it!). Bruno the bear is a good inspiration to us travelling bears in that he shows what can be achieved with a bit of talent.
I cannot remember much about the programme itself but they always seemed to be zipping around the Florida Everglades on hover boat type thing (that's the technical name for it!). Bruno the bear is a good inspiration to us travelling bears in that he shows what can be achieved with a bit of talent.
Knut the Polar Bear
As a travelling bear I have the great pleasure to meet Knut face to face in Berlin Zoo. He is perhaps the most famous Polar bear in the world and first became famous when he was a little cub being reared by humans at the zoo because his mother had abandoned him. Sadly he died last year aged just four years old when he drowned after contracting encephalitis.
After being raised by humans, Knut became very attached to his handler, Thomas Dorflein, who sadly died of a heart attack in 2008. He seemed to enjoy the contact with humans and used to "cry" when he wasn't getting any attention.
After being raised by humans, Knut became very attached to his handler, Thomas Dorflein, who sadly died of a heart attack in 2008. He seemed to enjoy the contact with humans and used to "cry" when he wasn't getting any attention.