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.

Pets Are Fam

Pets are the best companions; they get super excited when you are in a good mood and silently listen to your grievances, being your best cuddle partners. They become such integral part of our daily lives that it is hard to imagine an existence without them. They are like a family member who is always there, always waiting for you to give them love and attention and reciprocate it. There are people who keep generations of animal families in their families. It’s like families of two different species are connected for generations and that bond is more special than any other. This is true for the family in this story too. 

Not So Teddy Bears

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.

A Tragedy Too Soon

Monika is actually Jhonny III Welde’s wife, which sort of made her an outsider in the family. The family tradition of having the bears became dicey when quite recently Jhonny III, the caretaker and the patriarch of the family died of a heart attack just after he turned 60. Monika said, “I know the bears miss him, they do notice his absence.” She continued, “but our son and I decided to continue the family legacy and go on for my husband.” Monika decided to not let anything happen to the Ranch and she along with her son Jhonny IV who is 27 years of age, decided to take the responsibility.

Hand Raised 14 of ’em!

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.