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Smokey in Washington DC
Smokey Bear
Smokey was a North American Black Bear.
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He was found in a
wildfire and named Hotfoot Teddy. But then it was decided to make
him campaign mascot to advertise forest fire prevention. Thus, Ted became Smokey.
Smokey Bear had already been the US
Forest Service's mascot, but he didn't exist. Now he did. Win-win.
Dr. Smith of Santa Fe Examines Smokey's Burns
National Historical
Publications and Records Commission
Image at the Top of
the Page
Smokey Bear having a peanut butter
moment, only with honey and berries.
Jessie Cohen, Photographic print,
Smithsonian Institution
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What's Hotfoot Teddy's
Story?
Hotfoot Teddy had lived his short life
in the mountains just north of Capitan, New Mexico, minding mostly
his own business.
Here is Capitan on a map:
Map Location of
Capitan, New Mexico
Google Map
Disaster struck when a forest fire
blazed through Ted's neck of the woods. On May 9, 1950, firefighters
found him clinging to a burned tree. The tiny fur was scared out of
his little skull and badly burned himself.
He became Hotfoot Teddy and ended up
in the lap of Ray Bell, the game warden.
Smokey the Cub
Lincoln National Forest/USDA
Who Invented Smokey
the Bear in the First Place?
The Forest Service and War Advertising
Council came up with the idea of using a bear to promote forest fire
prevention. They settled on the name Smokey Bear.
The illustrator
Albert Staehle drew him first.
The year? 1944. Here he is:
Smokey Busy Preventing
in 1944
National Historical
Publications and Records Commission
Artist Rudolf Wendelin, who lived 1910
to 2000, developed the Smokey character further.
Who Asked You to
Prevent Forest Fires Before Smokey the Bear Came onto the Scene?
None other than famous Bambi, who, having escaped a wildfire
himself, was naturally concerned about his environment and a logical
choice for official spokesfawn.
Bambi and His Crew
Delivering the Message in 1944
National Historical
Publications and Records Commission
Smokey's Biography in
a Nutshell
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Smokey was born in 1950, in New
Mexico.
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He entered the zoo in Washington DC on June 27, 1950, where
he died on November 9, 1976.
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Smokey's remains were sent back to his
original stomping grounds and buried at the
Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan, NM.
More History
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