Hercules (1975 – 4 February 2000) was a trained

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...

from

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

who appeared in a number of cameo roles for various television productions, reaching the height of his popularity in the 1980s.

Origins

Hercules was born in captivity at the Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie. The park was unable to accommodate more bears, and if the cub could not be rehomed, it would be put down. Scottish wrestler Andy Robin had appeared on the same card as wrestling bear ( Terrible Ted) in

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church and Wellesley, Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was originally constructed in 1931 as an indoor arena to host ice hoc ...

in 1965. Learning that the cub was available, Robin and his wife Maggie bought the bear in 1976 for £50, with the idea of training it. In September, with the cub old enough to leave his mother, the couple brought him to their home on Sheriffmuir near Dunblane. Hercules grew quickly and in one year grew to a weight of 30 stone (190 kg; 420 lbs).

Early popularity

Hercules first appeared with Robin in his act on the UK wrestling circuit in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Robin commissioned a 60-minute documentary, ''Hercules the Wrestling Bear'' in 1980 at a cost of £10,000, designed to promote public interest in their show. It was this which gave Hercules early success, leading to a number of small acting roles on television.

International stardom

While filming for a

Kleenex Kleenex is a brand name primarily known for their line of facial tissues. Often used informally as a genericized trademark for facial tissue, ''Kleenex'' is a registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark applied to products made in 78 countries. The ...

television commercial on

Benbecula Benbecula ( ; or ) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a zone administered by ...

in the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

on 20 August 1980, Hercules managed to escape, going missing for 24 days. In a rescue attempt joined by hundreds of volunteers, search parties looked for Hercules for three days before calling off the search (though Andy continued to search on his own). On 13 September, a

crofter A croft is a traditional Scottish term for a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a ten ...

spotted the animal swimming; Herc was shot with a tranquilliser dart, netted, and flown by helicopter back to Andy.BBC's On This Day – "1980: Missing Scottish bear is found"
BBC News, 13 September 1980. The story quickly made Hercules a celebrity around the world, as the world's media gathered around the cage as the bear was brought back to consciousness. Being used to eating cooked food (he disliked raw flesh), the bear had lost 15 stone (95 kg; 210 lbs), almost half his weight. Andy found it quite remarkable that the bear half-starved to death rather than feed on the many sheep, cattle, or various other wildlife on the island. This endeared him all the more, including to all the people who had previously feared him for being a "wild beast", leading him to ever larger celebrity status. This also led to the "Big Softy" Kleenex campaign, which kicked off his film career. For the years following, Herc continued to abandon more of his wild instincts, acting more and more like "a person" with his adoptive "parents". He would go on to secure higher profile roles in films such as the James Bond movie ''

Octopussy ''Octopussy'' is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond filmography, J ...

'' (

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

), in which he shared the screen with Roger Moore, and a documentary for the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

company, as well as moving to California for two years and starring in a number of other small film roles, children's documentaries, and chat shows. All this net his keepers a small fortune.

Later life

Following the filming of a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television documentary, '' Eyewitness Bear'' in 1997, Hercules suffered back pain whilst on transit to his home, marking an abrupt end to his career. He was believed to have experienced spinal damage, though no veterinary clinic had a powerful enough x-ray to prove this. Although euthanasia was recommended as a result, Robin nursed him back to health over the next six months, with swimming exercises in Hercules' pool. The determination paid off and he slowly started to walk again - and later x-rays, now more effective, proved that no spinal damage had taken place after all. In January 2000, Hercules was believed to have contracted an abscess - which would reveal itself on the skin. Although antibiotics were given to counter this, Hercules struggled to regain his prior health as he entered a state of torpor as a result of colder weather. He died on 4 February, 2000 aged 25 (which is around the natural lifespan of a grizzly). In 2013, Andy and Maggie were invited to unveil a life-size statue of Hercules on North Uist. A documentary, ''Hercules the Human Bear'', aired on

Channel 5 (UK) 5 (formerly known as Channel 5 and Five) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK and Australia division. It was ...

on 3 April 2014.

References

External links