When we talk of a pet we imagine a dog, cat, rabbit and some types of reptiles.
However, the 350-kilogram grizzly bear isn’t on this list and Casey Anderson believes that the bear is more considered to be a friend than a pet.
Casey Anderson has always loved animals so much that he got the nickname “animal baron”. He grew up with a great passion for wildlife and became an animal trainer and protector.
One day he found out that two cubs would be euthanized because of the overcrowding in the wildlife park and he decided to raise them. Unfortunately, only one cub survived and Casey named him Brutus.
Casey Anderson and Brutus have a special bond that is more than a relationship between the owner and the pet.
When the bear was still small he lived at Casey’s house.
As the bear grew older Casey made a special shelter for him and the other bears because he was “tired of looking at exploitation and abuse of those in captivity” and decided to “give bears a beautiful home who were stuck in captivity.”
Brutus and Casey are inseparable till today. They are so close that Brutus even attended his wedding.
The man tells: “My relationship with Brutus is unique. This is a true result of the years of experience and training. And Brutus is an exceptional bear.”
He believes that Brutus is 90% a bear and 10% human as he likes the human energy and lifestyle.
Casey and Brutus have worked together on a couple of feature films, television shows, and even commercials.
In 2009, Casey was invited to share his story on The Oprah Winfrey Show where he told that he and Brutus had a deep emotional connection.
“I had a hard time and I was very upset … I started to cry. I noticed that Brutus wanted to ease my pain and he up to me and gave me a very gentle nudge. He unconditionally supported me and listened to me very carefully. This is really what I needed from him. “
“Brutus cannot live in the wild because he didn’t spend the first three years of his life with his wild mother,” explains Casey. “That’s the time when bears learn everything they need to know to survive in the wild.”
“Brutus has a lot of new friends,” Casey says. “We recently rescued a little bear named Bella.”
“When I interact with Brutus I am certainly very careful … I definitely don’t treat him like a pet. He’s a bear,” says Casey.
“If something happens to me then all my achievements will be nullified. Then I’ll just be a fool who got too close to the grizzly bear,”Casey says. “This is part of my responsibility for this relationship: never forget about it, no matter how much I love him and no matter that he is my best friend, he is a grizzly bear.”
They’ve been together for over a decade and Casey believes their friendship will last for decades. “Bears can live to be 30, 40 years old,” he says.
