

In 1919, the London Zoo held a dedication ceremony and erected a plaque that states Colebourn donated Winnie.Īmong Winnie's fans at the London Zoo was A. Winnie's eventual destination was expected to be Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, but at the end of the war, Colebourn allowed her to remain at the London Zoo, where she was much loved for her playfulness and gentleness. īefore leaving for France, Colebourn left Winnie at London Zoo on 9 December 1914. On October 17, they disembarked and left Davenport, Greater Manchester, for Salisbury Plain at 7:00 that morning. Manitou along with numerous other liners filled with troops heading for England. According to Colebourn’s six diaries that he kept during the war, on 3 October 1914, he and Winnie departed Gaspé Bay enroute for England aboard the S.S. Winnie accompanied him to Valcartier and all the way to England, becoming the mascot of the CAVC and a pet to the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade Headquarters.

Colebourn named the bear "Winnipeg Bear", "Winnie" for short, after his adopted home city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The name of the hunter who sold the bear and who presumably provided the bear's early socialization is undocumented. The bear's mother was probably killed in the spring of 1914 when the cub was very young and could most easily have become socialized to humans. On 24 August, while en route to Valcartier in Quebec to report to the Canadian Army Veterinary Corps (CAVC) as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, he purchased a young bear cub for CA$20 (equivalent to $472 in 2021) at a train stop in White River, Ontario. Harry Colebourn of The Fort Garry Horse, a Canadian cavalry regiment, volunteered his service. Upon the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Lt. Rescued by cavalry veterinarian Harry Colebourn, Winnie is best-remembered for inspiring A.

Winnipeg (1914 – ), or Winnie, was the name given to a female black bear that lived at London Zoo from 1915 until her death in 1934.
