What is the real story of Smokey the bear?
Smokey Bear's story has a real-life component. In the spring of 1950, a wildfire raged through the Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico's Capitan Mountains, per the SDDA. During the blaze, firefighters found and rescued a three-month-old American black bear that would take the name Smokey Bear.
What does Smokey the bear always say?
Walt Disney is in some ways responsible for the genesis of Smokey Bear. After the massive success of Bambi in 1942, the adorable deer appeared in government public service campaigns to raise fire safety awareness. What does Smokey the Bear always say? Smokey’s original catchphrase was “Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest ...
What is Smokey Bear famous for saying?
Did you know?
- It’s Smokey Bear, not Smokey the Bear. ...
- Disney loaned Bambi to the Ad Council for one year for their fire prevention effort prior to Smokey Bear.
- The Forest Service and War Advertising Council introduced a bear as the fire prevention campaign symbol. ...
- Nine out of every 10 wildfires are human caused. ...
Was Smokey the Bear real?
The Real Smokey Bear! Smokey Bear was a real bear! Back in 1950, a quite lucky little American black bear cub, “Smokey”, was caught in a huge 17,000 acre wildfire in New Mexico. The three-month-old cub was rescued after the fire, suffering burns on his hind legs and paws.
Did Smokey the Bear die in a fire?
Although his likeness lives on in public service announcements, the real-life “Smokey the Bear” died on November 9, 1976. A baby black bear was rescued from a wildfire in New Mexico in 1950. He survived and was turned over to the federal government to become the face of forest fire prevention.
How old was Smokey the Bear when he passed away?
26 years oldWASHINGTON, Nov. 9 — Smokey Bear died in retirement at the National Zoo here today. He was 26 years old.
Is the real Smokey Bear alive?
Little Smokey died August 11, 1990. Upon the death of the original bear on November 9, 1976, his remains were returned by the government to Capitan, New Mexico, and buried at Smokey Bear Historical Park, operated by the New Mexico State Forestry Division.
Is Smokey the Bear a true story?
Though not quite the “true” story of Smokey, since the character was invented six years earlier by the Fire Service, the real life Smokey helped contribute to the ad campaign and further raise awareness of fire prevention until his death in 1976. The “real” Smokey after his being rescued.
How old is Smokey the Bear 2021?
77Smokey Bear turns 77 today, August 9th, 2021. His Ad Council Wildfire Prevention campaign in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters is the longest running public service campaign in history.
What's the story behind Smokey the Bear?
Then in the spring of 1950, in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico, a young bear cub found himself caught in a burning forest. He took refuge in a tree, and while managing to stay alive was left badly burned. The firefighters who retrieved him were so moved by his bravery, they named him Smokey.
Who rescued Smokey the Bear?
The crew rescued the five-pound American black bear cub who later became known as “Smokey” out of the embers. Adolph Samora, a member of the Snowball crew, remembers putting out fire hotspots when some other firefighters called him over to what looked like a crumpled jacket lying on the ground.
Where is Smokey the Bear buried?
Capitan MountainsUpon his death in 1976, at the urging of his many friends, Smokey's body was returned to his beautiful and beloved Capitan Mountains. He now rests in peace, buried in a small park which bears his name; in the heart of the Village of Capitan and in the shadow of the mountains where it all began.
What happened to the real Smokey Bear Cub?
Nearby, the little cub had not fared as well. He took refuge in a tree that became completely charred, escaping with his life but also badly burned paws and hind legs. The crew removed the cub from the tree, and a rancher among the crew agreed to take him home.
Does Smokey Bear have a girlfriend?
Number Five: He had a girlfriend, sorry, Karen. In 1962, the National Zoo paired Smokey with a female bear named Goldie Bear. The thought was that if Smokey had offspring, then a direct descendant of the original Smokey could continue as the living symbol. They never had cubs.
What did Smokey the Bear say?
Smokey's original catchphrase was "Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires." In 1947, it became "Remember... Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires." In 2001, it was again updated to its current version of "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires" in response to a massive outbreak of wildfires in natural areas other ...
What is Smokey the Bear's real name?
His name was Ray Bell. He had been fighting a fire. It was burning in New Mexico's Capitan Mountains. Don Bell was 15 when his father came home with the bear.
Overview
Smokey Bear is an American campaign and advertising icon of the U.S. Forest Service. In the Wildfire Prevention Campaign, which is the longest-running public service announcement campaign in United States history, the Ad Council, the United States Forest Service (USFS), and the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), in partnership with creative agency FCB, employ Smokey Bea…
Campaign beginnings
Although the U.S. Forest Service fought wildfires long before World War II, the war brought a new importance and urgency to the effort. At the time, many experienced firefighters and other able-bodied men were serving in the armed forces, leaving fewer at home to fight forest fires. The Forest Service began using colorful posters to educate Americans about the dangers of forest fires i…
Living symbol
The living symbol of Smokey Bear was a five-pound, three-month old American black bear cub who was found in the spring of 1950 after the Capitan Gap fire, a wildfire that burned in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico. Smokey had climbed a tree to escape the blaze, but his paws and hind legs had been burned. Local crews who had come from New Mexico and Texas to fight the blaze rem…
Popularity
Smokey quickly became a part of American popular culture, appearing on radio programs, in comic strips, in cartoons, and as merchandise. Knickerbocker Bears acquired the license to produce Smokey Bear dolls in 1944. In 1949, Forest Service worker Rudy Wendelin became the campaign's full-time artist and was considered Smokey Bear's "manager" until Wendelin retired in 1973.
Legacy
For Smokey's 40th anniversary in 1984, he was honored with a U.S. postage stamp, illustrated by Rudy Wendelin, that pictured a cub hanging onto a burned tree. The same year, the U.S. Forest Service began to transfer Smokey Bear materials that had been collected from the CFFP campaign to the National Agricultural Library to be maintained in their Special Collections as documentat…
Voices
Washington, D.C., radio station WMAL personality Jackson Weaver served as the primary voice representing Smokey until Weaver's death in October 1992. Dallas McKennon voiced Smokey in the 1957 Woody Woodpecker short film, Red Riding Hoodlum. George Walsh briefly provided Smokey's voice in the mid 1960s. From 1969 to 1986, Smokey was voiced by Roger C. Carmel. After Weaver's death, Gene Moss took over the role and voiced him until his death in 2002. In later yea…
Adaptations
Smokey Bear—and parodies of the character—have been appearing in animation for more than fifty years. In 1956, he made a cameo appearance in the Walt Disney short film In the Bag with a voice provided by Jackson Weaver. Rankin/Bass Productions, in cooperation with Tadahito Mochinaga's MOM Production in Japan, produced an "Animagic" stop-motion animated television …
Fire ecology
Although the goal of reducing human-caused wildfires has never changed, the tagline of the Smokey Bear campaign was adjusted in the 2000s, from "Only you can prevent forest fires" to "Only you can prevent wildfires". The main reason was to accurately expand the category beyond just forests to include wildlands, which include grasslands. Another reason was to respond to misplaced criticism from wildfire experts, and to distinguish 'bad' intentional or accidental wildfir…