Otto the Bear photos wanted for museum exhibit
Every day, people stop to take a picture of one of the most recognizable specimens at the University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks, Otto, an 8-foot, 9-inch brown bear who has greeted guests for more than 40 years. The museum is looking for photos of Otto the Bear to help promote an upcoming exhibit, “Hibernation and the Science of Cold.”
The specimen was taken in 1950 at Herendeen Bay on the Alaska Peninsula and donated by Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Webb. It weighed 1,250 pounds and is listed in the Boone & Crockett All Time Record book. The museum staff nicknamed the bear “Otto” in honor of Otto Geist, who developed the museum’s initial collections.
Photos of Otto and other favorite snapshots of the museum will be used in a bear-shaped montage celebrating famous hibernators.
Visitors can share their photos on facebook (facebook.com/alaskamuseum), upload them with the hashtag “OttoBear,” or e-mail them to ua-museum-news@alaska.edu.