Top 6 Bears

Because Ursidae are our friends.

6. Yogi - I really hate cartoons where the protagonist is a bumbling loser who makes life hard for another character who's just trying to do his best. Naturally, I'm not a fan of Yogi Bear. Ranger Smith is just trying to keep things at Jellystone park going fine, and there's Yogi stealing all of the "pikinik" baskets. However, Yogi is a pretty big deal, so I'll give him some props and put him in at number 6.

5. Paddington - Before I even knew that this bear had his own cartoon show, I remember having a small Paddington Bear calendar. All of the pictures featured a stuffed-animal version of Paddington in some of the coziest scenes I have seen in my life. I longed to be in that cozy world of Paddington, and I still do. Props to you Paddington for finding the coziest things in life.

4. Smokey the - He's really just concerned about forest fires. Unfortunately, he hasn't yet learned that uncontrolled forest fires can actually be a help in certain situations, especially in pest management. Maybe Smokey's the guy to blame for the pine beetle problem in British Columbia. Maybe there needs to be another bear that shows Smokey where it's at - that only uncontrolled forest fires can prevent excessive economic damage to human activities by killing off the mountain pine beetles. How about that, Smokey?

3. Bear Grylls - Anyone can survive in the wilderness - it's called being a nomad. People did it for years, but then they built houses and lived in those. I don't get the big deal about adding more inconvenience to your life by living with trees. That's what's so great about Bear Grylls of Man vs. Wild fame. He's not actually trying to survive in crazy situations - he's just pretending to and making a lot of money for it. Apparently some of his exploits are faked. I don't know if this is true but, this is a blog and blogs are for perpetuating unsubstantiated rumors.

2. Baloo - Baloo is an inspirational story for us all. He started singing songs to a boy in the Jungle, and ended up becoming a pilot with his own TV show. Not bad for a beast.

1. Winnie the Pooh - Thank you Winnie the Pooh for being my childhood. Thank you that the 100 Acre Wood is a land of endless fun and happiness. Thank you for bringing Tigger into my life. Thank you for having a voice that sounds like my grandmother.