Russell Chadwick remembers the summer he turned 16
it was the time he wrestled with grizzly bears!
Russell’s adventure started when he came to stay at Wasatch
Rocky Mountain Wildlife, an animal training center in Utah. The center is run by Doug and Lynne Seus, who train
wild animals to be actors in television and movies.
Doug and Lynne asked high-school student Russell to help
them take care of two four-month-old grizzly bear cubs
called Little Bart and Honey Bump. That’s more difficult
10 than it sounds, because even baby bears are pretty big.
“One time Bump took a bite out of my back, and I had to wrestle her to the ground.”
Russell’s job was to play with the bears to get them used
to humans. At the same time, he had to remember that
movie bears are still wild animals:
“One time Bump took a bite out of my back, and I had to wrestle her to the ground. But it also showed me how
smart she is. She knew she had done something wrong
and ‘apologized’ by putting her head in my lap.”