Which Canadian veterinarian bought the bear cub that inspired Winnie-the-Pooh?

Harry Colebourn bought the bear cub that inspired Winnie-the-Pooh.

Colebourn was a Canadian veterinarian and military officer travelling across Canada during the First World War. In White River, Ontario, he encountered a hunter selling a female black bear cub whose mother had been killed.

Colebourn purchased the cub and named her Winnie after Winnipeg, his adopted hometown. He took her overseas, where she became an unofficial mascot of the Fort Garry Horse. When Colebourn left for military service in France, Winnie was placed at London Zoo.

A. A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin later saw Winnie at the zoo. Christopher named his own teddy bear after her, helping inspire the fictional Winnie-the-Pooh. Colebourn is sometimes confused with Milne, but Colebourn supplied the real bear and the name’s “Winnie” element; Milne created the literary character.