Teton Totem, a coastal brown bear, came to us as a child of divorce. A woman had bred him for movie work, but then had to move and was unable to take care of him. Our resident celebrity, he has appeared in commercials, professional photo shoots, and documentary films. Now in his twenties, he is a seasoned emissary for his bear constituency, often moving people to tears with his gentle, powerful presence. Remarkably, he invented a kind of bear sign language, with which he communicates his wants to humans. He also has been seen doing bear yoga to stretch his back, which was once injured. He loves pears and mangos.
Grizzly Bear Facts: Grizzly bears have a multitude of strengths. They are highly intelligent and have excellent memories. Detecting food from great distances away, grizzlies have an astute sense of smell. In the wild, their lifespan average is 25 years. Their iconic hump is where a mass of muscles attach to the bear’s backbone and give the bear additional strength for digging.
