Back in 1914, a young Canadian veterinarian named Harry Colebourn was on a train. He spotted a baby black bear cub for sale at a train station in Ontario. He bought her for twenty dollars—and named her Winnipeg, after his hometown.
Naturally, everyone called her Winnie for short. Harry took Winnie with him to England when he joined the army. She became the regiment’s unofficial mascot, a little furry soldier with a big personality.
But here’s the kicker: when Harry was shipped off to France, he couldn’t take Winnie. So, he did the next best thing—he donated her to the London Zoo. And guess who came to visit her there?
The Magical Zoo Visit
That’s right—a little boy named Christopher Robin Milne fell in love with Winnie. He would visit the zoo with his dad, the writer A.A. Milne, and just watch the bear for hours. He was so obsessed that he even named his own teddy bear after her.
So now the bear had a “Winnie.” But what about the “Pooh” part? That’s where it gets even more random—and totally adorable.
Winnie the Pooh | PPT
Christopher Robin also had a pet swan. And that swan… was named Pooh. Yes, really. You can’t make this stuff up.
