THE world’s biggest bear weighed more than 2,000 pounds and stood a whopping nine feet tall.
Clyde – a huge Alaskan Kodiak bear – lived out his days alongside his best mate Bonnie and was the pride and joy of Dakota Zoo.
He arrived at the zoo in 1965 as a hefty 180 lb cub and reached the grand old age of 22 before his death in June 1987.
Clyde was described as a “living legend” and a carved replica of him made by local artist Dave Ely, now sits on display inside the zoo.
He was the largest bear ever held in captivity and according to zoo director Terry Lincoln, Clyde probably weighed close to 2400 Ibs and still had a fat layer of 9 inches when he died.
The Federal government originally studied the gigantic beast as a research animal to determine the effect of the radioactive isotope Strontium-90 on wildlife.
Dakota zoo is still up and running and is celebrating its 63rd season this year.
It was set up by Marc and Betty Christianson and houses a range of animals including mountain goats, grizzly bears and North American Porcupines.
The zoo opened its gates on June 3, 1961 on 15 acres of developed land, with 75 mammals and 23 birds, and 40,000 visitors passed through the gates that first year.
At first it was just a farm which gave a home to domestic animals such as dogs, cats, and horses.
Over time, people who knew of the Christiansons’ love for animals began dropping off strays and injured animals at their door knowing that they would be in safe hands.
As the number of animals multiplied people began to come to pay them visits and have a look around the place.
Today, it has grown to a 90 acre facility housing 600 mammals, birds, reptiles and fish representing 125 species and is visited by more than 150,000 people each year.
The majority of construction was initially done by Marc and his crew with donated materials and the zoo remains self-supportive operating solely on funds raised.
These can be acquired through admissions, concession sales, adopt an animal programs, memberships, and donations.
Despite being physically imposing Kodiac bears are usually not agressive and tend to avoid humans.
But, if they feel threatened they wont hesitate to defend themselves or their cubs and are capable of easily killing a human.
In April a British tourist was mauled by a bear after she stopped to take photos of the beast.
Kodiak bears are the largest species in the world here's some key facts about them:
The unnamed woman, 72, was driving near Romania‘s Carpathian Mountains when she spotted two playful looking bears at the side of the road.
The Scottish holidaymaker lowered the window to take snaps with her phone when one of the animals suddenly got onto its hind legs and put its paws into the car.
It then bit down on the unsuspecting woman’s arm – prompting her partner to quickly put their foot on the gas to escape.
The woman was rushed to a hospital after the terrifying encounter on Monday in the Transfăgărășan mountain road in Argeş County, southern Romania.
She told local media: “We were in the car and we were going to take a picture.
“And the bears came up to the window.”
Doctors have since confirmed that the woman’s injuries are not life-threatening.
Recovering from her hospital bed, the tourist added: “I just wanted to take a picture of him [the bear].”
And she managed to get an incredibly close-up snap, showing the bear with one of its giant paws inside the car.
