Jeremy (bear)
Brown bear who lived at the Camperdown Wildlife Centre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jeremy was a captive female Eurasian brown bear who lived at the Camperdown Wildlife Centre in Dundee, Scotland.
Jeremy in April 1985 | |
| Species | Eurasian brown bear |
|---|---|
| Sex | Female |
| Born | c. 1966 |
| Died | 1991 (aged 24–25) Dundee, Scotland |
| Residence | Camperdown Wildlife Centre |
Life
Jeremy starred in Sugar Puffs adverts in the 1960s before the cereal brand replaced her with a cartoon version of herself.[1][2] She briefly lived at Cromer Zoo in Norfolk where she was notably visited by future Rector of the University of Dundee Stephen Fry when he was a child.[2] Fry wrote in The Fry Chronicles that Jeremy was the first celebrity he ever saw in person.[2] Jeremy was later moved to Camperdown Wildlife Centre in Dundee, where she became the centre's main attraction.[2] In July 1974, she was moved from a cage to a bear pit.[3]
Jeremy made headlines when she bit 10-year-old Ross Prendergast from Ardler in 1986.[4] The boy, who had entered the centre after closing time with his brother, Mark, and a group of friends, was injured after placing his hand through the bars of the enclosure.[4][1] His arm was severed at the elbow, and he sustained severe injuries to his chest and shoulders.[1] Dundee Royal Infirmary reported that Prendergast was in satisfactory condition.[1] The centre's conservation officer George Reid stated that it was the first time that Jeremy had been involved in an incident and that she was "not normally aggressive".[1]
Jeremy lived at the centre until her death in 1991, when she was euthanised for medical reasons at the age of 25.[5]
