At five months old, Bart was orphaned out in the Alaskan wild when a poacher shot his mother. After the Alaskan Department of Fish and Game was informed of the encounter, they searched the area by helicopter for three days.
They located the male and female cubs - Bart and his sister Honey Bump - and placed them with a loving family, ensuring them a richer life than one afforded by placement at a zoo.
Doug and Lynne Seus never intended to call the male cub Bart, but the name kept slipping off of their tongues as they played with him. His personality was identical to their former bear Big Bart, and he was a virtual photocopy of Big Bart’s baby pictures. Big Bart was Doug’s soul mate, and the Seuses tragically had to say good-bye to him on the same day they received news of the cubs. As they continued the grieving process for Big Bart, the Seuses had to also focus on building trust with the two brand new cubs. Almost immediately, Doug and Lynne started the socialization process. Rides to town always meant ice cream cones; trips to the mountains meant smashing watermelons and playing in creeks; construction sites meant picnics with tuna sandwiches and lemonade.
Now, as an adult, Bart the Bear 2 is massive, standing well over 8 feet tall. He rivals indigenous grizzlies of the plains during the buffalo years, and is as big as some coastal brown bears. Bart is the largest, most powerful Grizzly on Bear Mountain. His hobbies include swimming, eating, rolling giant tires around, and chasing butterflies. At 19 years old, he leads the way in three separate challenges for Man vs Bear. At King of the Mountain, Bart hurls competitors into the water with his massive paws and jaws. At Brute Force, Bart rolls an impossibly heavy log down a course with ease. And finally, at Human Prey, the humans come face to face with Bart as he hurtles them down towards a crater in the earth. No Grizzly on the mountain can match Bart’s aggression and versatility. Bart is a literal can’t-miss spectacle on Man vs Bear.
CREDIT: Lynne Seus