He may not have been the Best Man, but an 800 lb. grizzly bear named Brutus was invited to the wedding of wildlife naturalist Casey Anderson and his new bride, actress Missi Pyle. Brutus has been raised by Anderson on his five-acre sanctuary in Montana, ever since he rescued him as a small cub from an over crowded wildlife park years ago.

 

The bear, who’s now seven years old, was welcomed at the wedding with open arms by Pyle as Brutus is considered to be part of the family.

 

Anderson’s relationship with the grizzly is so special that National Geographic recently filmed and aired a documentary called Expedition Grizzly, on the odd couple.

 

The film focuses on the year that Anderson spent researching the threatened existence of the grizzly bears in the famed Yellowstone National Park. Anderson took Brutus along with him so he could educate the viewers on grizzly bear behavior and the demonstrate the best way to avoid confrontations with the creatures.

 

While Brutus technically lives in captivity, he still has the freedom to roam and enjoy all of the things that wild bears do. He also has a few friends to play with as Anderson houses four other rescued bears. “He digs, swims, wrestles with other bears, he’s a bear,” says Anderson. “But, being that he was in my life since he was so little, I’m a huge part of his life.”

 

Anderson added that having Brutus around has also helped him in his work as he has been able to study the bear first-hand and learn the animal’s habits and body language.