Cambridge, UK, renowned for its prestigious university and historical architecture, holds a fascinating, lesser-known connection to bears. While you might expect to find stone bears guarding museum entrances, as they do at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, the city’s history extends to actual bears – not just as wildlife but, surprisingly, as pets.
The Sedgwick Museum, adorned with bear and bison sculptures, appropriately reflects Cambridge’s ancient fauna. Fossil discoveries in nearby Barrington revealed that bears, alongside bison, roamed this region over 120,000 years ago. These findings, showcased in the museum, place bears firmly within Cambridge’s natural history.
However, Cambridge’s bear narrative takes an intriguing turn when we consider historical accounts of bears as companions. While the Sedgwick Museum’s stone bears are symbolic, and fossil evidence confirms their ancient presence, stories emerge of bears being kept as pets, offering a unique glimpse into past human-animal interactions.
Venturing beyond the museum, Madingley Hall, now part of the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education, reveals 17th-century murals depicting bear hunts. This artwork points to a time when bears were not just wild animals but also creatures involved in sport and, in some cases, kept in captivity. Historical records suggest bears were bred for hunting, a practice that continued until the mid-19th century.
Perhaps the most captivating tale of “Pet Bears” in Cambridge revolves around the flamboyant poet Lord Byron. During his time at Trinity College in the early 1800s, Byron famously kept a bear. Defying university rules against pet dogs, Byron acquired a tame bear, possibly from Stourbridge Fair. His rationale? He reportedly quipped that the bear was intended to “sit for a fellowship,” highlighting his rebellious spirit and unconventional pet choice.
Byron’s bear wasn’t merely a fleeting whim. Correspondence from the time reveals his genuine connection with the animal. In a letter to Elizabeth Pigot in 1807, Byron affectionately referred to his bear as his “new friend, the finest in the world, a tame bear.” This anecdote provides a remarkable insight into the historical phenomenon of bears being viewed not just as fearsome wild animals, but also as companions, albeit in extraordinary circumstances.
Cambridge’s history, therefore, encompasses more than just fossilized bears and museum sculptures. It includes intriguing glimpses into a past where bears, albeit rarely, stepped out of the wild and into human lives, even becoming, in the case of Lord Byron, a truly unique “pet bear.” This blend of natural history and anecdotal evidence makes Cambridge’s bear story a compelling chapter in the broader narrative of human-animal relationships.
