Brumas & Ivy

Some very old toys, belonging to my friend's mother when she was a girl. Brumas is the baby, the first polar bear born in London Zoo.

She's a bit of a legend according to the LZ website:

"Brumas was born 27 November 1949. Her mother was named Ivy and her father Mischa. Brumas was named after her keepers Bruce and Sam (reversed).

She was the first baby polar bear to be successfully reared in Britain and was an immediate attraction with the public. She caused such interest that, in 1950, the Zoo?s annual attendance figures reached the 3 million mark (around one million more that usual at that time). This has not been exceeded at any time previously or since.

Although Brumas was female, the press had reported that the bear was a ?he? and the error was not corrected at the time, so the public thought that the baby was male.

The bear was so popular that newsreels, books, postcards, toys and other souvenirs celebrated her fame. She died on 17 May 1958."

I doubt somehow whether any of Babywolffcub's plastic throwaway toys will be held in such esteem 50 years from now.