Hercules the Bear

A lasting legacy to Scotland’s most famous bear!

Hercules the Bear

Background

Hercules the Bear was born in Highland Wildlife Park in 1975 - a grizzly bear, who went on to become a national, and worldwide, celebrity.

  • When Hercules was 9 months old, he was adopted by Scottish wrestler Andy Robin and his wife Maggie - and moved to the family home in Sheriffmuir, where Andy built a specialist living space for Hercules in the back garden!

  • Hercules grew to be a 2.75m (9-foot) and 445 kg (70-stone) adult and became a much-loved member of the family, would eat meals with them and would even enjoy the occasional pint of beer at the pub owned and run by Andy and Maggie!

  • Hercules was trained to wrestle with Andy, and made his wrestling debut on 26th August 1977.

Escape, Search, Capture

  • In 1980, while filming on Benbecula, in the Western Isles, Hercules managed to escape.

  • He went on the run for 24 days.

  • A massive search effort failed - but eventually he was spotted by a local crofter, recaptured and flown by helicopter back to his home.

  • By the time of his recapture, Hercules had lost half its body weight - because he refused kill any animal for food.

Celebrity & Film Star

  • Hercules was the star of a Kleenex ‘Big Softie’ campaign.

  • He starred in the 1983 James Bond movie Octopussy.

  • For 2 years, Hercules lived in California, becoming a US television and film star.

  • He was named Scotland's Showbusiness Personality of the Year in 1981.

  • He caddied for comedian Bob Hope at Gleneagles golf course.

  • He met then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and received a telegram from then US President Ronald Reagan.

Ill-Health, Nurture and Recovery

Following the filming of a television documentary, in 1997, Hercules suffered back pain whilst on transit to his home.  Sadly, this signalled the end of his acting career. Despite losing the ability to walk, Andy and Maggie carefully nurtured Hercules back to health - including by Andy encouraging Hercules to undertake swimming exercises in a pool in the family’s garden! The determination paid off and he slowly started to walk again.

Passing and Memorials

Sadly, Hercules passed away in February 2001, at the age of 25 (around the natural lifespan of a grizzly bear in the wild).

  • In 2013, Andy and Maggie were invited to unveil a life-size statue of Hercules on North Uist - a memorial still there to this date.

  • Maggie also commissioned a statue of Hercules which resided in her garden in Auchterarder.

  • With Maggie moving house, ACSR sought to retain the statue in Auchterarder - as a lasting legacy to Perthshire’s, and Scotland’s most famous bear. The statue was relocated to ACSR’s ‘Pocket Forest’ (in Auchterarder Public Park), in October 2026 - with a formal opening ceremony taking place in early 2027.

Acknowledgement & Thanks

We are extremely grateful to Maggie Robn for contribution to creating this webpage - and we hope this webpage, and the statue in ACSR’s ‘Pocket Forest’ in Auchterarder Public Park provides a fitting legacy to Scotland’s most famous bear.