Both the Smokey Bear character and the real life Smokey hail from Washington, D.C. In 1950, an orphaned bear cub was rescued from a wildfire in New Mexico and brought to Washington to live at the ...

While Smokey Bear today is most commonly seen in picture form — or as a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade — there was, at one point, a real-life bear that was known as "Smokey Bear." ...

As Smokey Bear's popularity grew due to his positive animal traits, his story took a real-life turn in New Mexico with the discovery of an orphaned cub. In 1950, firefighters in Capitan ...

Was there ever a real-life Smokey Bear? Smokey Bear was also a real-life bear who was the victim of a wildfire as a young cub, according to the Smithsonian Institution. In 1950, a wildfire broke ...

But the most popular Smokey incarnation was as a real bear. It was an American black bear cub that was rescued in 1950 from a 17,000-acre forest fire in Lincoln National Forest in south-central ...

From his humble beginnings as a fictional character to his transformation into a real-life survivor and national icon, Smokey Bear has become one of the most recognizable figures in American history.

Smokey would come to life in 1950 when a black bear cub was ... taken to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. after news of a real bear named Smokey swept across the nation. As a living symbol ...

Bennicoff said this outfit was so closely associated with Smokey that some young kids were bewildered when they saw a naked bear at the National Zoo. Visitors were startled to see a real bear ...

D.C., a real-life Smokey Bear promoting wildlife conservation and fire prevention to adoring children. At first, Smokey seemed an incredible success. According to The Salt Lake Tribune article ...