Loaded for Bear : Samson Is the Zoo’s Big Draw, Even if the Star’s Performance Is a Real Yawner

The curious are coming from Thousand Oaks and San Diego and all across Orange County. They line up four-deep some afternoons, with children perched on their parents’ shoulders, all hoping for a peek at Samson the hot tub bear.

“It’s worth the drive,” said Cindi Green of Perris, as her three young daughters leaned on a fence for a closer look at the 600-pound black bear. “My children heard all about him and they were bugging me to see Samson.”

Four weeks since the arrival of the Orange County Zoo’s new celebrity, Samsonmania is still going strong.

Last Sunday, the zoo set a one-day attendance record with 2,000 visitors. During the first three weeks of March, 28,100 people paid $1 to enter the zoo, compared with 12,500 in March of last year when admission was free. Samson T-shirts and caps fly off the shelves. Calls from schools wanting to arrange zoo tours have quintupled.

“The reaction has gone way beyond my expectations,” said Forrest deSpain, the zoo’s director. “But what really gratifies me is that they show up already knowing so much about Samson and his story. They don’t come because [of] the celebrity, they come because they really seem to identify with Samson.”

Many of dozens of people gathered around the bear’s special $150,000 exhibit at Irvine Regional Park were familiar with the tale of Samson.

“What I know is that Samson came out of the woods because he was hungry and liked to jump in pools and hot tubs and that’s why they call him the hot tub bear,” said Jimmy Hoskins, 5, of Anaheim.

After wildlife authorities caught Samson near Monrovia two years ago, it took a pardon from Gov. Pete Wilson to save the bear’s life. DeSpain volunteered to give Samson a home and opened the exhibit with great fanfare last month at the county park. The bear’s home features a 12-foot waterfall, a faux-granite cliff backdrop, and of course, a bear-size swimming pool.

DeSpain said Samson has taken to his new place like a bear to honey.

Every morning, zoo staff members hide food in different spots: green grapes in grass, a smear of honey on a tree stump, grubs under a log.

“He spends a couple of hours in the morning foraging for tidbits,” deSpain said. “It’s a day-to-day challenge to outsmart the bear. He has to look in new places all the time and this keeps him interested and active.”

The zookeeper said Samson is constantly in and out of his pool between naps, climbs around on boulders and generally “has a pretty active day.”

Samson doesn’t usually play to the crowd. Last Sunday, the bear spent most of his time dozing in the sun as zoo visitors watched intently.

“It’s pretty fun to watch the people watching Samson,” deSpain said. “He’ll roll over and yawn and there’ll be a big round of applause from the crowd.”

Not only have schools expressed a greater interest in field trips to the zoo, but deSpain said he has been contacted by college professors for permission to bring students to Samson’s exhibit.

“One of the most gratifying parts of all this for me is the interest that people in higher education have shown” in the bear exhibit, deSpain said. “That’s what our zoo is all about, education.

“The affection and interest from the public is there,” he said. “I have no doubt that it will remain.”