Was Winnie-the-Poohs mother killed by a hunter and Winnie-the-Pooh left on the ground somewhere?
No. The bear you are asking about is not the Winnie-the-Pooh bear in the storybooks. You may be thinking about the black bear named “Winnie” that became the inspiration for “Winnie-the-Pooh”. According to my friends at the White River (Ontario, Canada) Museum, a Canadian officer named Lt. Harry Colebourn bought a female black bear cub from a trapper for $20 on August 24, 1914 that had been orphaned after its mother had been killed by a hunter. Lt. Colebourn decided to name the cub “Winnie” after his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. During World War I, Lt. Colebourn took Winnie to England where he was stationed. While in England he was promoted to Captain. Later, Winnie was donated to the London Zoo for safekeeping when Capt. Colebourn’s military unit was ordered to France. Supposedly, Winnie was a very popular attraction. Author A.A. Milne took his son, Christopher Robin Milne to see the bear. Christopher so liked the bear that his father decided to name the character in his new
