Hercules the bear on TV 3/4/14
A TV documentary about the story of Hercules, the wrestling grizzly bear which became
a Western Isles celebrity is being shown on Channel 5 at 9pm tonight (Thurs).
Hercules was bought as a cub from a Scottish zoo and was raised as a child by Andy
and Maggie Robin.
Extraordinary archive film footage reveals Hercules adapting to his new surroundings
at the Sheriffmuir Inn and learning to wrestle with Andy, without killing him in
the process, to the heart stopping moment he went missing in the Uists where the
hunt for Hercules turned into international news.
A global spotlight focussed on North Uist where, for 24 days, the bear evaded the
army, police and hundreds of volunteer searchers who scoured the hills and moors
after he took off when swimming in the sea on a family holiday to Benbecula in August
1980.
His Hebridean exploits shot him to stardom. The public nicknamed him “Big Softy”
and his fame grew, travelling to Hollywood being feted by the stars and royalty and
loved by his fans.
He starred in Disney movies and in the James Bond movie Octopussy amongst a raft
of TV appearances until he died in died in February 2000.
The programme which airs in April concludes with a trip to Langass Woods where a
life-sized statue of Hercules was unveiled in August.