Answer to the bonus question:

[HavBlue]

Created in 1944 the image and safety campaign of Smokey is the longest running active safety message in US history. The message "Only you can prevent Forest fires" was changed in April 2001 to "Only you can prevent Wildfires."

Smokey bear, the original ad name was thrown into confusion when song writers Steve Nelson and Jack Collins were having trouble with the rhythm of the famous Smokey song they wrote in 1952. They added "the" to the name and a confusion that lasted for decades was born.

The actual bear that lived for years in the Washington D.C. Zoo and named Smokey was actually found by U.S. Forest Service firefighters from the Lincoln National Forest. A fire had raged through the area known as Captain Gap. The bear cub, found badly burned and clinging to a tree was called "Hot Foot Teddy."
Teddy would be treated and his story gained National attention as he became Smokey Bear, the live representative for the Smokey ad campaign.

 

[mikebike]

Ya can learn something every day -- that was news to me

I knew YOGI was not the right name

 

[reiobard]

very cool, i thought i read that article but missed the Hot Foot teddy bit...

 

[HavBlue]

On May 4, 1950 the Los Tablos fire started and on May 6, 1950 the Captain Gap fire broke out. The two fires would eventually come together and burn 17,000 acres. On May 8, a 70 mile per hour wind made it impossible to control the blaze. It was on this day that nineteen men were trapped in a rockslide while the fire raged around and passed them over. They were rescued without any fatalities but later on May 9 that fire crew brought a badly singed bear cub into the fire camp. They had found the frightened cub clinging tenaciously to the side of a burnt pine tree. Badly burned about the buttocks and feet, he was given the name Hotfoot Teddy, a name soon changed to Smokey Bear. His burns were tended to overnight at the nearby Flately Ranch, then he was flown by Game Warden Ray Bell to the veterinary hospital in Santa Fe. In July 1950, New Mexico State Senator Chaves presented Smokey to the children of America as he was placed in his permanent home at the National Zoo. Smokey began receiving so much mail he was given his own Zip Code. Smokey remained at the National Zoo until his death in 1976. He was taken back to his home in the Village of Captain, New Mexico and buried in a park that has his name. The present Smokey living in the National Zoo is also from the Lincoln National Forest. The character and likeness of Smokey are protected by Federal law.