Brown Bear Bruno Reincarnated as a Teddy
June 28, 2006
Two thousand brown bears are making their way to Germany. And while it won't take Finnish hunters or their dogs to track these bears, you'll have to act fast if you want to get your hands on one, because they may not be around for long.
Stuffed-animal maker Steiff announced Tuesday that they are producing a special edition "Bruno JJ1" bear. The real Bruno the Bear was shot dead on Monday in Bavaria after being sought for over a month.
He'll be in our hearts forever
The Bruno toys will soon be on shop shelves as a reminder of the bear that captured hearts, escaped hunters and left a trail of chicken and rabbit carcasses in his wake.
A bit smaller and safer than their namesake, the bears will come with a black ribbon -- as a symbol of mourning -- and cost 49.90 euros (63 dollars). Not bad, considering that another teddy company wanted to sell stuffed Bruno bears for 120 euros prior to his passing.
A few words about a good bear
Product planners at Steiff are apparently not the only ones interested in paying tribute to Bruno. The Munich Merkur newspaper even published an obituary for the bear on Wednesday:
"Our Bruno has died. Following his wonderful hike from Trentino to Tyrol and Bavaria, Bruno the Brown Bear made Mr. Stoiber [premier of Bavaria] stutter, turned Schnappauf [Bavaria's minister of state] into the 'Problem Minister', and caused all the animal-rights activists to despair."
The newspaper didn't say whether the obituary came from Bruno's family members, or legions of fans.