Post by grrraaahhh on May 23, 2011 5:40:12 GMT -9
‘Nature’ Series Investigates Alaska’s Bears
Tue, May 10, 2011
Posted in Alaska News
Steve Heimel, APRN – Anchorage
Public television’s “Nature” series is running a set of three shows featuring Alaska’s bears – Polar, Brown and Black. “Bears of the Last Frontier” follows Seattle ecologist Chris Morgan to Kaktovik, Denali Park, the Noatak, Katmai, the Dalton Highway, and Anchorage as he seeks out the animals in their habitat.
Above: Chris Morgan.
Cinematographer Joe Pontecorvo says the series is part of a larger effort to create a documentary about bears and their habitats all over the world, called “Bear Trek.”
Some might consider it strange to use a motorcycle to explore bear country. The cameraman says initially he, too, had his doubts.
For the road portion of the series, Morgan used his motorcycle, and the rest of the crew used a van. Of course, much of their shooting was done in remote areas far beyond the reach of anything but aircraft. It took a year and a half to shoot the material used in the series, including one whole summer spent in Anchorage following Fish and Game biologists Rick Sinnott and Jessie Coltrane as they responded to bear incidents in the city.
The crew also spent a lot of time in some of the same remote bays of Katmai National Park that were frequented by Timothy Treadwell, who was killed there along with his girlfriend by a Brown bear in 2003. Treadwell, too, filmed himself getting close to bears, and then showed his videos to the public. Viewers of their public television series have been quick to make comparisons, but Pontecorvo says Chris Morgan’s approach is entirely different from Treadwell’s.
Pontecorvo says it’s a point of pride with Chris Morgan that he has never had to use his flares or his pepper spray, though other crew members have.
The first of the three-part series ran last week and concentrates on Katmai Brown bears. The next episode is on the road and deals with Black and Brown bears. And the third episode deals with arctic bears – Brown and Polar – as well as wolves and caribou.
Pontecorvo says they wanted to portray both the bears and their habitat. The re-introduction of predators to Yellowstone National Park has shown the world that predators are a key part of a healthy ecosystem.
www.edmontonjournal.com/technology/polite+bears+Alaska+star+series/4737462/story.html
Chris Morgan sets up camp at a remote spot in the heart of Alaskan wilderness, alongside the largest concentration of grizzlies in the world. The bears are taking advantage of the long days to feed, mate, and raise new cubs. Morgan tracks their progress as they feast on the riches of the season and re-establish the complex hierarchal social dynamics of bear society.
Bears of the Last Frontier Full Video Link
www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/bears-of-the-last-frontier/introduction/6524/
Chris Morgan explores the world of black bears caught in the crossroads of urban development in Anchorage and the wilderness. This is a new normal for bears and for their human neighbors. Some bears are so comfortable living in urban surroundings that their primary habitat is a golf course. In residential areas, bears frequently raid garbage bins and birdfeeders for easy snacks. But these behaviors are less than ideal for bears and residents alike. Morgan heads north out of Anchorage to Denali National Park, where the mountains loom over treeless plains and bears get by on a diet of thousands of berries a day. The grizzlies share the enormous park with foxes, wolves and moose — and with one intrepid bear biologist and his team. Morgan continues his journey north on a bone-shaking, 610-mile motorcycle journey from Denali to Prudhoe Bay along the only Alaskan highway to reach the Arctic. Prudhoe Bay, a once pristine area at the edge of the Arctic Ocean, has been changed forever by the oil industry.
The Road North Full Video Link
www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/bears-of-the-last-frontier/hour-2-the-road-north/hour-two-the-road-north/6531/
Chris Morgan travels to the far north of Alaska, the tiny North Slope town of Kaktovik. It’s early November and winter is coming on. But each year, the polar bears struggle for extended periods on dwindling fat reserves, waiting for the opportunity to hunt on sea ice that takes longer to freeze. In early spring, Morgan joins local hunters in Barrow, the northernmost city in Alaska, as they go out on their own hunts, facing some of the same challenges as the bears. In late spring, Morgan travels to the North Slope of the Brooks Range, where countless thousands of caribou cover the ground for miles. The grizzlies are waiting for them, as they have for thousands of years.
Arctic Wanderers Full Video Link
www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/uncategorized/bears-of-the-last-frontier-polar-bear-introduction/6532/
Edit: Updated to include full video hyperlinks.
Tue, May 10, 2011
Posted in Alaska News
Steve Heimel, APRN – Anchorage
Public television’s “Nature” series is running a set of three shows featuring Alaska’s bears – Polar, Brown and Black. “Bears of the Last Frontier” follows Seattle ecologist Chris Morgan to Kaktovik, Denali Park, the Noatak, Katmai, the Dalton Highway, and Anchorage as he seeks out the animals in their habitat.
Above: Chris Morgan.
Cinematographer Joe Pontecorvo says the series is part of a larger effort to create a documentary about bears and their habitats all over the world, called “Bear Trek.”
Some might consider it strange to use a motorcycle to explore bear country. The cameraman says initially he, too, had his doubts.
For the road portion of the series, Morgan used his motorcycle, and the rest of the crew used a van. Of course, much of their shooting was done in remote areas far beyond the reach of anything but aircraft. It took a year and a half to shoot the material used in the series, including one whole summer spent in Anchorage following Fish and Game biologists Rick Sinnott and Jessie Coltrane as they responded to bear incidents in the city.
The crew also spent a lot of time in some of the same remote bays of Katmai National Park that were frequented by Timothy Treadwell, who was killed there along with his girlfriend by a Brown bear in 2003. Treadwell, too, filmed himself getting close to bears, and then showed his videos to the public. Viewers of their public television series have been quick to make comparisons, but Pontecorvo says Chris Morgan’s approach is entirely different from Treadwell’s.
Pontecorvo says it’s a point of pride with Chris Morgan that he has never had to use his flares or his pepper spray, though other crew members have.
The first of the three-part series ran last week and concentrates on Katmai Brown bears. The next episode is on the road and deals with Black and Brown bears. And the third episode deals with arctic bears – Brown and Polar – as well as wolves and caribou.
Pontecorvo says they wanted to portray both the bears and their habitat. The re-introduction of predators to Yellowstone National Park has shown the world that predators are a key part of a healthy ecosystem.
www.edmontonjournal.com/technology/polite+bears+Alaska+star+series/4737462/story.html
Chris Morgan sets up camp at a remote spot in the heart of Alaskan wilderness, alongside the largest concentration of grizzlies in the world. The bears are taking advantage of the long days to feed, mate, and raise new cubs. Morgan tracks their progress as they feast on the riches of the season and re-establish the complex hierarchal social dynamics of bear society.
Bears of the Last Frontier Full Video Link
www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/bears-of-the-last-frontier/introduction/6524/
Chris Morgan explores the world of black bears caught in the crossroads of urban development in Anchorage and the wilderness. This is a new normal for bears and for their human neighbors. Some bears are so comfortable living in urban surroundings that their primary habitat is a golf course. In residential areas, bears frequently raid garbage bins and birdfeeders for easy snacks. But these behaviors are less than ideal for bears and residents alike. Morgan heads north out of Anchorage to Denali National Park, where the mountains loom over treeless plains and bears get by on a diet of thousands of berries a day. The grizzlies share the enormous park with foxes, wolves and moose — and with one intrepid bear biologist and his team. Morgan continues his journey north on a bone-shaking, 610-mile motorcycle journey from Denali to Prudhoe Bay along the only Alaskan highway to reach the Arctic. Prudhoe Bay, a once pristine area at the edge of the Arctic Ocean, has been changed forever by the oil industry.
The Road North Full Video Link
www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/bears-of-the-last-frontier/hour-2-the-road-north/hour-two-the-road-north/6531/
Chris Morgan travels to the far north of Alaska, the tiny North Slope town of Kaktovik. It’s early November and winter is coming on. But each year, the polar bears struggle for extended periods on dwindling fat reserves, waiting for the opportunity to hunt on sea ice that takes longer to freeze. In early spring, Morgan joins local hunters in Barrow, the northernmost city in Alaska, as they go out on their own hunts, facing some of the same challenges as the bears. In late spring, Morgan travels to the North Slope of the Brooks Range, where countless thousands of caribou cover the ground for miles. The grizzlies are waiting for them, as they have for thousands of years.
Arctic Wanderers Full Video Link
www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/uncategorized/bears-of-the-last-frontier-polar-bear-introduction/6532/
Edit: Updated to include full video hyperlinks.