Bosco

Bosco was Earth King Kuei's pet bear and best friend. He lived with his master in the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace.
== History ==
Prior to his capture, Bosco lived in the forests along the eastern coast of the Earth Kingdom. He was the only known member of his species, although the Earth King had commanded the top zoologists of Ba Sing Se University to lead a battalion of soldiers in scouring the Earth to find Bosco a mate. Little is known about his habits in the wild; however, Bosco enjoyed roaming the grounds of the Royal Palace with his master, and he developed a taste for cakes and pies, hence his weight.
Bosco was the guest of honor at a birthday party the Earth King threw for him, where he ate large portions of food and was fascinated when Aang performed waterbending tricks.
He frequently sat at Kuei's side and was one of the prime reasons Kuei decided to hear what Aang and his friends had to say about the conspiracy in Ba Sing Se, as Bosco took a liking to Aang.
Bosco was at Kuei's side when he welcomed the disguised trio of Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee. Apparently, Mai was forced to clean all of Bosco's waste, stating that "if [she had to] clean another pile of bear poop, [she would] throw up." Bosco was separated from Kuei after Azula ordered the Dai Li to arrest the King, but was soon reunited with his master when Sokka and Toph rescued him from Ty Lee and Mai.
After the Coup of Ba Sing Se, Sokka tried to teach Bosco to survive in the wild, though he gave up after many failed attempts of teaching him how to climb, fish, roar, and defend himself. Subsequently, Bosco was the main reason for Kuei's decision to roam the Earth Kingdom as he realized that just as Bosco had limited knowledge of being a bear, he too had limited knowledge of being a king. Thus, both left Team Avatar to travel the world undercover.
Following the liberation of Ba Sing Se and the end of the Hundred Year War, Bosco returned to a life of luxury once more when Kuei regained his position as Earth King. During the planning of the Harmony Restoration Movement, Bosco was present in the throne room with Team Avatar and the Earth King. While they discussed the plan, Momo tried to steal Bosco's hat, though the bear quickly snatched it back. Bosco was present a while later at the richly-filled dinner table the King had prepared for Aang and Katara to occupy them while he was pondering the changed situation in Yu Dao. During this, Momo offered him a small piece of cake on a plate, but Bosco turned his head away in refusal. The bear subsequently tried to reciprocate the gesture with a fish, but the lemur rejected it earnestly.
Two years later, Bosco accompanied Kuei to the Southern Water Tribe at the behest of Head Chieftain Hakoda. As it was his master's first experience with the cold environment of the South Pole, Bosco gave him a hug to provide warmth. Later, after Kuei was kidnapped by Gilak, Bosco was worried for his best friend, prompting Momo to cheer him up by dangling a dried fish in front of his face. Following Kuei's successful rescue, Bosco accompanied Kuei and Team Avatar to Kanna's hut to share a multicultural meal.
After Kuei's death, Bosco was eaten by the king's daughter, Earth Queen Hou-Ting, with rumors of his demise spreading across the Earth Kingdom.
=== Legacy ===
A restaurant called "The Auspicious Bear" in the Roku Plaza district of Republic City had a statue of a chubby bear wearing a delicate hat sitting at the base of a bamboo tree in the garden. The owner, Sonam, swore that this was an authentic statue of Bosco.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Starter Set, Adventure Booklet, pg. 29.
== Personality ==
Bosco was ill-mannered, loud, and spent a great deal of time eating. However, the Earth King apparently was oblivious to his pet's faults and treated the bear like a son, taking Bosco along to see the world incognito outside the walls of Ba Sing Se after the city fell. Despite his less genteel qualities, Bosco was affectionate toward Kuei and others and could sense if danger was near or if someone was a good person. He was also highly intelligent, not only able to perform human activities, like using a fishing rod, but also to fully understand human language as well as typical human gestures.
Bosco was also playful and energetic, especially when around friendly human companions. As a talented whistler, Bosco preferred not to roar and was generally of mild disposition, with the exception being his sometimes wild table manners.
== Appearances ==
== Trivia ==
* When Bosco was first mentioned to Aang and his friends, they were skeptical that there was such a creature as "just a bear" and suggested that perhaps it was another type of creature, such as a platypus bear, skunk bear, armadillo bear, or gopher bear.
* He was one of the few animals not voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.
* Bosco's claws were manicured twice a month.
* Bosco was the only animal, apart from Momo, to ride on Appa's back.
* A military fort located a short distance from the Misty Palms Oasis is named after Bosco.The Legend of Korra—The Art of the Animated Series, Book Three: Change, page 129.
* A plastic Bosco can be found in a replica of the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace at the Little Ba Sing Se Fashion Mall in Republic City.
* Bosco was named after a pet dog owned by Lisa Yang, a writer for the series. Prior to this, another dog of Lisa had become the inspiration behind the name of June's shirshu, Nyla.Basco, Dante (host), Varney, Janet (host), DiMartino, Michael Dante (guest), Konietzko, Bryan (guest). (June 29, 2021). "Origin Stories with Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko Pt. 2". Avatar: Braving the Elements. Episode 3. iHeartRadio.
** Additionally, Bosco was deliberately portrayed as a normal bear because the writers thought it would be funny to introduce a non-hybrid animal among the hybrid animals in the world of Avatar.
* Despite being portrayed and described as a regular bear, Bosco exhibited several traits which considerably differ from real-world bears. Besides his human-like intellect, Bosco was also exceptionally long-lived. Real-world bears rarely get older than 25 years, yet Bosco actually outlived Kuei.
== References ==
== See also ==
* Fauna in the World of Avatar
* Kuei
de:Bosco
es:Bosco
fi:Bosco
fr:Bosco
nl:Bosco
pl:Bosco
pt-br:Bosco
ru:Боско
Category:A to Z
Category:Animal characters
Category:Characters
Category:Comics characters
Category:Earth Kingdom characters
Category:Fauna
Category:Graphic novel characters
Category:Minor characters
Category:Minor graphic novel characters
Category:Non-hybrid creatures
Category:North and South characters
Category:The Promise characters