Lambton county's bear now has a name.
Lambton Heritage Museum Curator and Supervisor Dana Thorne announced the winning name of the museum's "Name the Bear" contest Friday.
"Benjamin Mawinzo. So our bear ended up having a first and a last name -- which I thought was pretty cool -- and it's inspired by local berries, so berries being a key source of food for bears."
Thorne said the first part of the name comes from a man who settled in Arkona in the 1870s named Benjamin Gott.
"And he was active with the Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Growers' Association and a really vocal voice for preserving our local environment," said Thorne. "The second part of the name, Mawinzo, is an Anishinaabemowin word, and it translates roughly as 'he or she who picks berries.'"
Thorne said Chris Harrington sent in the winning name and that the contest was a big success.
"It was amazing. We had almost 350 individual names that were submitted for the contest, so it was amazing to see that response from the community."
Thorne said it was tough to pick a winner and that the museum ended up picking nine runner ups.
She said Harrington will receive the original painting “Sacred Bear” from local artist Jeffrey “Red” George, as well as an exclusive tour of the upcoming exhibition Nnigiiwemin / We Are Going Home and a free pass to the museum.
"It's a reflection on the 25th anniversary of the Ipperwash Crisis. [The exhibition] was co-curated Summer Bressette and Monica Virtue."
The runners-up get a free pass to the museum for submitting the following names:
Blueberry, Niibin Nagweyaab (meaning Summer Rainbow), Niikon (meaning Brother), Bami the Mukwa (meaning to take care of, look after, support, provide for), Clarence, Giiwe (meaning to go home), Mashikiki Mukwa (meaning medicine bear), and Aakdehwin (meaning bravery).
The contest was launched earlier this month after dozens of reported black bear sightings in the Lambton Shores area since late May.
A Facebook post on the Lambton Heritage Museum's "Name the Bear" contest. July 2021.