Hercules: The grizzly bear who became family
Maggie Robin raised a half tonne bear called Hercules like her own child. He lived in her home, ate at her table, and even met the Prime Minister. Then one day, he disappeared.
When Maggie Robin and her wrestler husband Andy brought home a bear cub in 1970s Scotland, their friends thought they were mad. But the couple raised him as one of the family. Named Hercules, the tiny cub grew into a towering but gentle bear who slept by the fire, played in the garden and travelled everywhere with them. Attitudes towards keeping wild animals have changed since then, but at the time, Hercules was something of a celebrity and even appeared on film, on chat shows across the world, and met the then prime minister. To Maggie though, ‘Herc’ was simply family. Then one day, while filming in the Highlands, Hercules slipped his leash and vanished into the wild, sparking a nationwide search.
Archive clips came from Hercules The Bear, A Love Story courtesy of Friel Kean Films.
Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Edgar Maddicott
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707
(Photo: Andy and Maggie Robin celebrate Christmas at home with Hercules the Bear, blowing out candles on a cake. Credit: Maggie Robin)
Last on
Broadcasts
- Thu 26 Feb 202612:06GMTBBC World Service
- Thu 26 Feb 202618:06GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Thu 26 Feb 202623:06GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Last Friday03:06GMTBBC World Service
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