Bear Residents

Current permanent residents:

Circus name Clyde, called Molly at Bear With Us
Species – Ursus Americanus – North American Black Bear
Origin – Canada
Born – January/February 1986
Sex – female
Weight – healthy 175 to 250 pounds depending on time of year
Arrival to Bear With Us – December 9, 1994

Molly (Clyde-her circus name) was an ex-circus bear who spent much of her performing life in Ireland.  Forced to be a dancing bear (trained by putting the bear in a small cage, forcing it to stand on hot steel plates and playing music; the bear learns to associate the music with the pain of having it’s feet burned), Molly developed terrible stereotypic behavior.  She was sold to a private menagerie and not well fed or cared for.  The Irish SPCA and most notably a man named Brendan Price was responsible for Molly’s arrival to the Bear With Us Sanctuary in Canada, the place of her origin.  Zoocheck Canada helped Mike McIntosh of Bear With Us financially to get Molly situated in her new country and home at Bear With Us.

Molly resides with Yogi in a densely forested 3,717 sq. metre (40,000 sq ft) enclosure which includes a pond for drinking and cooling off. 2011 celebrates Molly’s 17th year at the Bear With Us Sanctuary. Molly will be 26 this January 2012.

Molly is a beautiful bear still shy of men.  Negative or stereotypical behaviors ceased to exist many years ago. Molly and Yogi have not been allowed to produce cubs, captive born cubs is not what we want at Bear With Us. Even though Molly can never be returned to the wild, bears are beautiful animals that should be wild and free if at all possible.

Molly Bear has her own Facebook page. Want to know more about Molly Bear and how bears have to coexist with more and more humans? Ask Molly Bear to be your friend on Facebook! Molly Bear | 

Yogi (name given by circus owner)
Species – Ursus Americanus – North American Black Bear
Origin – exact location unknown
Born – January/February 1990
Sex – male
Weight – a healthy 400 to 450 pounds
Arrival at Bear With Us  – April 19, 1995, very fat and healthy

Yogi also a circus bear was never forced to perform.  He was aquired as a young cub and was kept as a pet or mascot.  Well fed, Yogi’s owner heard about the plight of Molly through the media in England.  Looking for a good home for his maturing and growing bear, Yogi’s owner called the World Society for the Protection of Animals in the UK and asked them to help find Yogi a home.  The owner of the English circus was put in touch with Mike McIntosh of Bear With Us in Ontario, Canada and it was decided that Molly should have some companionship, and Yogi would be it.  The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) in the UK coordinated with the WSPA office in Canada and Yogi’s flight was arranged from the UK to Canada and paid for by the WSPA.

Bear With Us does not want captive born bear cubs.  Yogi was given a vasectomy.  Molly and Yogi have been companions to each other since 1995. Since year 2001 they have resided in a 3,717 sq. metre enclosure.

Their large enclosure  features dense forest with natural earth substrate, plus their own pond. Mike quite often sees Yogi splashing and relaxing in the pond on a hot day.