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In the 1950s, a bear cub found himself in a forest surrounded by flames. To escape the fire burning around him, he climbed up in a tree. By the time the fire fighters found the scared and hungry cub, the forest was charred and blackened.
The firefighters, park forest rangers and the warden were so moved by the bravery of this little cub that they named him Smokey. They put him on a plane and sent him to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. to live.
In the town of Capitan, New Mexico near where this brave bear had been found, people erected a museum to honor him. The museum still exists today.
Is Smokey Bear that brave bear cub? It's hard to say for sure. But, certainly this Smokey carries on the spirit of that little bear cub-- to protect forests and keep them safe from the kind of fire that destroyed a forest and made so many animals homeless so long ago.
In 1994, the Smokey campaign celebrated its 50th anniversary of communicating Smokey Bear's message that, "Only you can prevent forest fires!" |
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In 1995, approximately 1 1/2 billion tree seedlings were planted in the U.S. That's the equivalent of 5 new trees a year for each American! |
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