Literary Pets – Bruin the bear

Romantic poet, Lord Byron loved animals and throughout his 36 years of life had many exotic pets – an Egyptian crane, peacocks, guinea hens, a honey badger, a crocodile, monkeys, a falcon and a fox. When, in 1805, he went as a student to Trinity College, Cambridge, he was told firmly that he would be breaking the rules if he kept a dog in his rooms, and so Byron, resentful of this regulation, found himself a tame bear instead. As there was no rule about keeping bears at Cambridge, he felt safe from punishment and seemed to feel that the animal was a symbol of his general defiance of authority.

He named his bear Bruin and loved him, even suggesting that the creature could sit for a fellowship. It is thought that Bruin had been trained for the circus, which is why he was so tame. They travelled together in a public coach, with the bear wearing one of Byron’s hats (in 1830 a local newspaper reported such a journey with amazement), and he often walked his ursine friend through the streets of Cambridge on a leash. He took Bruin on day trips out to Newmarket to watch cock-fights and even tried boxing with him (Byron was a talented sportsman).

When Byron left the university, he took his bear home to Newstead Abbey where it was free to roam the grounds. The neighbours must have loved that!

Byron’s unusual pet has inspired a novel – A Bear’s Diary by Ralph Hancock, in which the bear is renamed Daisy.