Cocaine Bear attracts visitors to business

A bear connected to one of Kentucky’s greatest conspiracies on display in Lexington. Cocaine Bear spent years on the road but now he’s mounted on the back of a pick-up truck and in the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall. Whit Hyler, the co-owner of Kentucky for Kentucky, says that they only had to pay for shipping to get the bear to Kentucky from the Nevada Desert.



People are coming from all over the world to see the famous Cocaine Bear. The bear’s story dates back to 1985, when Andrew Thornton, a true Kentucky Blue Blood, turned drug smuggler parachuted to his death over Tennessee with cocaine strapped to his body. A black bear ate 40 kg (75 pounds) of cocaine that Thornton dropped in Georgia’s Chattahoochee Forest.



The bear overdosed and died from the estimated $15 million worth of cocaine. Cocaine Bear was then stuffed and sold to Waylon Jennings, who didn’t even know the Cocaine Bear’s story; he was just a collector of such items. Jennings sent the bear as a gift to his friend in Nevada. When that friend died, “Pablo EskoBear,” as he is now known, was then sold to a pawn shop.



Hyler located the bear and the pawn shop gave it to him. “They just wanted to get rid of it. They were over it,” said Hyler. Kentucky for Kentucky is working on giving Pablo EskoBear his own section where there will be Cocaine Bear gear. You can see Cocaine Bear at the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall from 10:00am to 6:00pm, Monday-Friday.

With news video, or you can watch it here.