In 1914 a WWI Winnipeg Captain, Harry Colebourn, took a black bear cub to England as his regiment's mascot. When Colebourn shipped out for France, he donated the bear named "Winnipeg", after his home town, to the London Zoo. Author A.A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin loved "Winnie" and his father later crafted stories about a boy and his bear, "Winnie the Pooh".

Harry Colebourn