It Turns Out Winnie The Pooh Is Actually A Girl From Canada

You read that headline right: According to Lindsay Mattick, author of “Finding Winnie: The True Story Of The World's Most Famous Bear,” our pal Pooh is actually a lady bear.

According to Mattick, the bottomless, honey-slurpin' bear was actually based off of a real black bear cub purchased by a Canadian veterinarian named Henry Colebourn back in 1914.

As the story goes, the vet named the bear Winnie after Winnipeg, his hometown in Canada. The vet took care of little Winnie and even brought her along as a mascot when he served in England's army during WWI.

Eventually, for reasons unknown, the vet surrendered the bear to the London Zoo — where a little boy named (you guessed it!) Christopher Robin would come to visit her.

Robin's father later authored the now-famous Winnie the Pooh series, inspired by his son's interactions with the little (FEMALE!) black bear.

After this life-altering revelation, only two questions remain: One, where the hell did the “Pooh” part come from, and two, WHY did the makers of the cartoon opt to have a British male voice lil' Winnie's character?

Some truths we may never know.

Check out Mattick's Pooh expose for more fun facts about everyone's favorite bear, Winnie The Pooh.

Citations: OMG Winnie The Pooh Is Actually A Girl (BuzzFeed)