The polar bear that stands watch at Michigan State University’s Natural Resources Building, known by some as “Beary White,” has returned to his post after his first major restoration in nearly 50 years.
The 9-foot tall bear was reinstalled this morning after nearly three months of patchwork in Marlette in Michigan’s thumb. The work entailed a power washing of the bear’s fur, replacement of hand and foot pads and claws, and a new mouth and jaw.
He was mounted on a new base covered in artificial snow with caribou antlers at his feet. The Spartan logo is on all four corners of the wooden base.
An Oct. 21, 1960, section of the Seattle Times was found stuffed in the bear’s head, suggesting the bear originally underwent taxidermy within a few days of that date in Washington, Harris said.
The bear was shot by an Oak Park man near Point Barrow, Alaska, in 1957 and later donated to the MSU Museum. It was moved to the Natural Resources Building lobby in 1966, the year the building opened.
For the full article, see Christopher Behnan, “MSU polar bear, patched-up and cleaned, returns”, Lansing State Journal, September 1, 2015.