Gus

Gus is a masculine name, often a diminutive for Angus, August, Augustine, or Augustus, and other names (e.g. Aengus, Argus, Fergus, Ghassan, Gustav, Gustave, Gustavo).

As a stand alone masculine name, it derives from the Old Irish word gusmhar or gusair for "strength" or "force" or the root gustu- for "choice"/"chose", with most naming books combining both derivations as "strong choice".

Gus may refer to:

People

Given name

Gus (polar bear)

Gus (1985–2013) was a 700-pound (320 kg)polar bear and icon of the Central Park Zoo in New York City. His exhibit was visited by over 20 million people during his lifetime. He came to public notice in the 1990s, when he began swimming obsessively in his pool for up to 12 hours a day. Reporters dubbed him "neurotic", "depressed", "flaky", and "bipolar", turning him into a "symbol of the stress of living in New York City". As part of his therapy and treatment, Gus was the first zoo animal in history to be treated with Prozac.

Birth and early life

Gus was born in the Toledo Zoo in 1985. His father, Nanook, was sent to the Toledo Zoo from his home in the Bronx Zoo for the purposes of breeding. Gus' mother was named Snowball. In 1988, Gus was moved to the Central Park Zoo.

Fame

In the 1990s, Gus became the "face" of the Central Park Zoo for several media promotions and publications. Gus was seen by an estimated 20 million visitors in his lifetime.

In 1994 zoo officials began noting Gus' unusual behavior in his habitat. He was seen swimming back and forth in a figure eight pattern, again and again, for up to 12 hours a day. Such behavior in captive animals usually points to boredom and stress. The zoo hired an animal behavioral therapist at a cost of $25,000 to determine the reason for Gus' obsessive swimming. According to the therapist, "Gus is just bored and mildly crazy in the way that a lot of people are in New York". He ordered an "enrichment program" for the polar bear that included a redesigned habitat, "challenges" at mealtime, new toys and "positive-reinforcement training sessions". In 2002 the BBC reported that zookeepers had installed a jacuzzi to "cheer up" Gus. Gus was also the first zoo animal in history to be treated with Prozac. After a few months, Gus' obsessive swimming tapered off, but never disappeared entirely. He and his two partners, Lily and Ida, were featured at the 2005 International Conference on Environmental Enrichment.

Gus (1976 film)

Gus is a 1976 American film by Walt Disney Productions. Its center character is Gus, a football-playing mule.

Plot

Gus is a film about a football-kicking mule ("Gus") and his trainer "Andy" (Gary Grimes).

The film opens with a soccer game, and the Petrovic family watching their son Stepjan win the soccer game. Their other son Andy Petrovic works on his farm in Yugoslavia, and can't play soccer at all. A soccer ball is behind his mule, Gus. After saying that he never wants to see a soccer ball again, Gus kicks the soccer ball a long distance. Andy tries it with him and he says, "Oyage!" and Gus kicks the ball. [Note: there is fierce debate in the Gus fan community re the spelling of "Oyage." Some spell it "Oyatch!," while others give it a more Yugoslavian-sounding "Ojigdz!"]

Meanwhile, the California Atoms are a professional football team in Los Angeles, owned by Hank Cooper (Ed Asner) and coached by the inept Coach Venner (Don Knotts). They are by far the worst team in the league and have not won a single game in years. Their cheerleaders are fat and ugly, and even the marching band is awful. Desperate to draw fans in somehow, Cooper wants a great half time show. His secretary, Debbie (Louise 'Liberty' Williams), sees a story in her parents Yugoslavian newspaper about Gus, a mule that can kick a soccer ball through the goal from anywhere on the field.