ORANGE : Investment Firm Is Bullish on Zoo’s Bear

It’s been a beary good Christmas for Samson, the 600-pound California black bear who garnered fame for splashing in a hot tub and swiping avocados after he wandered into a Monrovia neighborhood two summers ago.

The Orange County Zoological Society, which is building Samson a new home, received a $10,000 donation toward construction from, um, Bear, Stearns & Co., a New York brokerage with offices in Los Angeles.

The nonprofit zoological society is raising more than $100,000 to build Samson a 3,000-square-foot exhibit at the Orange County Zoo in Orange. Samson is now in a holding pen at the state Department of Fish and Game near Sacramento.

After his romp through the neighborhood, state game officials scheduled Samson to be killed. But Gov. Pete Wilson intervened and ordered the bear held until a home could be found.

The gift from the brokerage--the largest cash donation since the project began last year--is more than double the previous top donation of $4,000, which was given by parents and students from a San Gabriel school. About $35,000 has been raised, with the money going into a trust fund to cover construction costs.

“Bear, Stearns & Co. have been very generous to donate that much,” said zoo director Forrest de Spain, who added that donations are still being accepted.

Construction on Samson’s imitation-sandstone home, which will include a large pool, waterfall and scratching post, began in March. Samson was scheduled to move in three months ago, but delays have pushed the completion date into late February, De Spain said.