Ursula Bottcher #1 (From Henry Penndorf)

Ursula Bottcher.2, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. Hi Bill, It was snowing out the other day, so I started to look at some old Ringling Brothers programs. The first one I picked up was the program for Ringling Brothers' 110th Edition (1980). That year Ursula Bottcher and her ten Polar Bears were a featured act. She was the focus of that year's circus poster. I know that there have been other Polar Bear acts in the past, and maybe some Polar Bear acts still exist today, but Ms. Bottcher's is the only one that I had every seen. It certainly was impressive one. The contrast of this petite woman, Ms. Bottcher who stands only 5', with bears that can reach almost twelve feet in height when standing upright was awe inspiring. When I was watching her perform, I don't think I realized at the time how very special her act was. Something interesting about her Ms. Bottcher's name...in Latin the word for bear is Ursa, and Ms. Bottcher's first name is Ursula, which means or translates to "little bear". It is almost like it she was pre-destined to become a bear trainer.