Photo: Sandy Perchetti/USFWS T.R. Bear

T.R. Bear was named for President Theodore Roosevelt.  President Roosevelt was in office in the early 1900's.  He was a great naturalist and cared about the environment.  One of his great quotes was, "We must ask ourselves if we are leaving for future generations an environment that is as good, or better, than what we found."  He was actually thinking about YOU when he made a promise  to preserve wildlife and habitat for its own sake and for the benefit of the American people almost one hundred years ago. "But what does all that have to do with bears?" you ask.

Well, according to The Theodore Roosevelt Association:

Nearly 100 years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt, went on a bear hunt. He enjoyed nature and being out in the woods where animals lived. Because he was the President of the United States, the people organizing the hunt wanted to make sure the hunt was successful.

But after 3 days of walking and climbing and riding, no bears were found. Now what? The President's bear hunt would be a failure!

The next day the hunt guide and his hunting dogs finally found an old bear. The dogs and guide followed the bear for quite a distance until the bear was very, very tired. The dogs attacked and injured the old bear. The guides tied the bear to a tree and called for the President. Here was a bear for him to shoot!

President Roosevelt looked at the poor old bear and said "no!" No one would shoot this old bear for sport. That would not be right. However, the bear was injured and suffering. President Roosevelt ordered that the bear be put down to end its pain.

So that is how a bear became connected to the name of President Theodore Roosevelt.

But where do toy "teddy bears" come from?

After this famous cartoon appeared in the papers, a shopkeeper, Morris Michtom took two stuffed toy bears which his wife had made and put them in his shop window. He had an idea.

Mr. Michtom asked for permission from President Theodore Roosevelt to call these toy bears "Teddy's bears". This store eventually became the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.

Other stuffed animals were made by a German company, Steiff. An illness left Margaret Steiff unable to walk. She refused to be stopped by her handicap and earned her living by sewing. First she made stuffed elephants, then other animals. In 1903 an American saw a stuffed bear she had made and ordered many of them.

Some of the early Steiff bears were used as table decorations at the wedding of Theodore Roosevelt's daughter. People started calling these bears "Teddy-bears" too! And the phrase caught on. Now toy bears are often called teddy bears!

Which brings us to T. R. Bear.  T. R. Bear is Edwin B. Forsythe NWR's mascot.  He made his first appearance at National Wildlife Refuge Day in October, 1999.  He is modeled after a stuffed T. R. Bear which is for sale at the Friends of Forsythe Gift Shop at the refuge.

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