At first, he was called "Hotfoot Teddy," but he was later renamed Smokey, after the mascot. A local rancher who had been helping fight the fire took the cub home with him, but he needed care from a veterinarian. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Ranger Ray Bell took him to Santa Fe. His wife, Ruth, and their children, Don and Judy, took care of the cub. News services around the country wrote stories about the cub, and he became famous. Soon after, Smokey was flown in a Piper Cub airplane to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where he lived for 26 years. After he died on November 9, 1976, Smokey's remains were returned by the government to Capitan, New Mexico, and buried at what is now the Smokey Bear Historical Park.