Having pets around is great for health and to keep things around the house light and peppy. Dogs make great pets, sometimes cats do too. People keep birds, tortoise, and fishes as pets. Some people go out of the league a little and have spiders, chameleons, lizards, and the likes as pets. But then there are those daring few, who become one with nature by keeping wolves, tigers, and lions with them. The loving nature of these wild animals shows that even though they are out in the ruggedness, they are capable of affection and beneath all the hard exterior, crave for attention.

However, you might not have yet heard of people keeping a big brown wild bear in their backyard and even if you had, what this family has in their backyard would defeat all of your conceptions of ideal pets.

Brown Bears are usually called grizzlies, because, well even though they are dangerous they look potentially real cuddly, there’s where the term ‘grizzly bear’ comes from. They are usually found in most places in Europe, the US, and Canada and prefer the deep forest habitat and mostly like feeding on berries and fruits. However, if they are too hungry, male bears are known to eat even their young ones (yeah, extreme). They can weigh up to 700 pounds and the females can weigh 350 pounds. Why are you being given facts about bears? Because a family in Florida kept them in their backyard. Not just one or two or even five.

Teddy Bears

The Bear Ranch is Jhonny IV’s inheritance and Monika has been taking care of these bears for 37 years now, but how do they manage it? Monica has been in the Welde family for 37 years and she has handraised the 14 bears who currently live in the Bearadise Ranch. When asked if she prefers bears more than humans she laughed and said, “Yeah, sometimes I do.” Well, there is got to be something really interesting and inspiring about these bears. She informed that “Over the course of 91 years some bears have been born in the family, some have been adopted.”

The Heir

Monika, in an interview, said that “My son has been raised with the bears, he has been interacting with them since he was a child,” and Jhonny IV went on to confirm saying that, “I have been around the bear since I was 3 years old… They are like family to me, I see them every day so they’re just my siblings basically.” He told his routine, “I go out and take care of the bears, feed them, clean them, interact with them a little bit, you know, talk to them.” He further told that they “let them out in the habitat so that they can run around, play… be bears.”

Time To Meet The Grizzlies

The oldest bears in the Welde family are 23 years old and their youngest ones are 5. This is Kenai. He is a 5-year-old male grizzly bear. He was adopted by the Welde family about 3 years ago and he is NOT full grown yet. Imagine if he is this big right now, how huge he will be in half a decade! He loves attention and honey. He is a sloppy kisser and likes to lick honey when it is drizzled on his paw but it is never enough for him because he is always craving for the new bottle. Since he loves attention, Monika makes sure to visit him daily.

Lucy And Tootsie

Lucy and Tootsie are 8-year-old female bears and the really cute bear on top of the stone is Misha. She is one of Kenai’s sister and is 5 years old. Jhonny IV said, “To us they are very safe. They are not keen on strangers, which is understandable, we have raised them so, to us they are very very sweet.” The fact that the bears adapted to and love the Welde family is the proof that no matter how strong or dangerous an animal is, it always responds to love and attention and Monika and Jhonny IV made sure there was no dearth of that.

Licenced To Take In Bears

Adopting bears is not as easy as adopting a dog or a cat. The Welde family is licensed to adopt bears. By converting their backyard into a bear friendly environment, the Welde family have proven their worth to be able to take care of these wild beasts. Keeping animals in confinement means robbing them of their natural habitat and restricting their movement. Welde family have especially gone out of their way to make the bears feel one with nature. They also take care to provide them with a good diet and loving environment.