It's easy to understand why Steve calls this bear Ace when you see the large white diamond on his chest. Ace was in the first episode of The Bear Whisperer, which aired in 2010. During that time he had a death sentence hanging over his head because of some havoc he had been causing. Somehow, however, Ace seemed to catch on to the fact that his days were numbered and he stopped behaving badly. In fact, he has not had a new offense in the past two years.

"He's a great example of what's possible," Steve said, in reference to the tactics he uses to teach the bears how to live with humans. "I'm proud of this bear."

Steve names most of the bears for their physical attributes but Ace also has another special significance. The first study bear that Steve worked with was named Ace. The first Ace was killed about 15 years ago, but the present day Ace looks just like the original so Steve allowed him the honor of the name.

Photo courtesy of Charles Jopson