A beloved black bear, who has called Durham’s Museum of Life and Sciences home since 2006, has died. Gus the bear was euthanized last week after veterinarians found an inoperable cancerous mass near his heart and lungs, according to museum officials.

Gus spent almost all of his 18 years at the museum in Durham’s Northgate Park neighborhood.

“Gus was one of those souls that brought people (and bears) together,” said Sherry Samuels, the senior director for animal care at the museum.

“His behavior with other bears, young and old, as well as what he did on his own, has made many of us smile, laugh, moan, roll our eyes, and just look at him in awe,” she said. 

Gus came to Durham after he was found as an orphaned 5-month-old cub in Virginia.

“Gus was one of those souls that brought people (and bears) together,” said Sherry Samuels, the senior director for animal care at the museum. (Museum of Life and Sciences)

Officials with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries rescued Gus and decided he would not be a good candidate to release back into the wild. So they got in touch with the museum to see about a permanent home for the bear.

Gus earned the nickname “Mama Gus” for his patience in raising other young bears at the museum. 

“While I sit with this huge hole, I also have immense gratitude,” Samuels said.

“Gratitude for how Gus impacted so many so positively. Gratitude for the veterinary team who cared for Gus so quickly and thoughtfully in his last days and minutes. I am so appreciative that Gus will live on not just in stories told of him by people I know, but likely hundreds if not thousands of people I don’t,” she said.

The museum plans to donate Gus’ body and cells to cancer research organizations to help scientists studying how to treat cancer in humans and animals. 

“Gus is deeply missed by staff and visitors,” the museum said. “He leaves behind Mimi (20), Little Bear (3), and Murray (1), the three remaining black bears at the museum.”