Tag Archives: Frank and Mikey

The Return of the King

No, not that king. Or not that king either, and definitely not the person who thinks he’s a king. I am, of course, referring to Otis. King of the Katmai Park, a bear to be reckoned with in the pecking order of the gang at Brooks Falls. Otis is now believed to be 27, which is old for a bear in captivity, and very old for a bear in the wild.

I read this most lovely tribute on Fezbook here. If it doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, you may already be dead. (I tried to link to this post, but since I couldn’t make it work probably due to some fez book noises, I added a screenshot instead, with the author of the post included)

Of course, ZooNooZ had to send their ace correspondents up to Alaska to interview the bears gathering in the park!

Mikey, too, is devoted to Otis.

Mikey (to Otis): You can have all my fish, buddy!

Be the Bear
Bob T waiting for the next indictment Panda

Back to the Panda House!

Meanwhile, back in the Panda House, Mei is trying to juggle room assignments, head off fights between Six and Sebben and well, anyone else there, and keep Josie happy while keeping Frank and Mikey out of her way. Whew! I’d say she has her paws full.

Hold onto your boo shoots. I think this summer is going to get crazy between indictments and panda room assignments.

Be the Bear!
Bob T never been indicted Panda

Now where were we?

Oh yes…As we return to our previous story…let’s see…Josie arrived looking for her cub Pookie. Pookie and Bikkie did not want to be separated, so somebody (who knows who…maybe Bikkie?) invited Josie to move in too. We’ll see how long that lasts. Lun Lun snuck out with Yang Yang after Ya Ya’s goodbye party, leaving Six and Sebben behind.

Fortunately, construction was completed on Pinky’s penthouse suite (hey, it’s fiction!) in advance of scheduled completion, so looks like there is room for everyone! As usual, Mei Xiang must make everything work and keep everything from falling into chaos.

Mei Xiang holds a meeting with all the cubbies and bears Frank, Mikey, Josie, and Pookie. Pinky, once again, takes advantage of the situation to get extra stuff for herself.

I’ve been writing a little Inner Panda Diary over at my Substack home. You could check it out.

Also, I have procrastinated getting these original watercolors from The Panda Cub Swap posted. Rather than bombard you with all of them, all at once, I thought it might be easier to post them in groups.

This group is the small spot illustrations that appear in a double page spread in the book. They are each $95 including US postage. Outside the US (if anyone is interested) postage will be at cost. International shipping has gone up, so be forewarned. If you are interested, use the Contact Me page, and identify the painting by number.

The individual paintings are all about 4″x6″ ish, and are matted at 6″x8″

Be the Bear!
Bob T my house is still standing after the fireworks Panda

Secret Agent Bear

Last week on Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me (the NPR Nooz Quiz) they shared a true story of bears in the Nooz. I thought it was worthy of a ‘toon, so I made one! Do you think this will get me on the show?

I looked up an article about the incident, which had several amusing quotes, my favorite being: Presumably the bear did not have a search warrant either.

Curious? Check out the article here after you read The Panda Chronicles version of it!

And who has the theme song Secret Agent Bear ear-worming your brain now?

Secret…agent bear
Secret…agent bear…
They’ve given you a number,
And taken away your name!

Be the Bear!
Bob T it wasn’t me either Panda

Truth…or BEAR!

There have been so many stories of bears in the Nooz lately. Are the bears being especially naughty? Or are there just more people filming the naughtiness of bears since almost everyone has a camera in their pocket?

Whatever the reason, we have bears coming out of our ears! (Which is better than hair coming out of our ears…) But here at The Panda Chronicles, we say, you can’t have too many stories about bears! Here, to tell you about bears and play a little Nooz quiz, are some of our favorite bears: Frank and Mikey (an don’t forget Pookie!) on a show we are calling;

Wait, Wait, Don’t Eat Me

Can you tell I listen to Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me?

Be the Bear!
Bob T I crack me up! Panda

Keep those bear stories and videos coming!

A Bear is a Bear (Especially when there are cuppycakes!)

Once again I want to thank all my observant readers who alert me to stories of bears in the Nooz. That most of these bears are caught in the act of behaving badly, well…bears will be bears!

Yeah! Why does everyone think that Frank and Mikey were involved in any bad behavior by bears?

Stay ‘tooned! It might actually be indictment week!

Be still my heart!

Be the Bear
Bob T it’s always time for cuppycakes Panda

Our Story (Remember that?) Continues

Now where were we?

So as I recall, PPJ showed up, poofed Frank, Mikey, Bikkie, and Pookie into a hot air balloon and off they went. Meanwhile, Josie finally found her way from Alaska to the Panda House at the National Zoo.

Okay! you are caught up.

Meanwhile, Friend to Bears Lucilla suggested that a gathering of pandas to say farewell to Ya Ya as she returns to China would be a fun thing. I immediately pounced (like a cat!) on this as a way to wrap up a story that seemed (like a hot air balloon) to be drifting aimlessly on the breeze.

Maybe don’t stand right under the balloon?

Be the Bear!
Bob T I bet somebody is gonna get grounded Panda

Bears Will be Bears

Who would have guessed that bears could smell the soda WHILE IT WAS STILL IN THE CAN?

Also that they don’t like diet soda.

Alert readers clued me in to this story about a bear who mistook this woman’s Subearu for a soda machine!

It DEFINITELY was not Frank or Mikey (or Pookie!)

Be the Bear!
Bob T did we mention Tucker got fired Panda