Grizzly Rewild — Q CAMERA PRODUCTIONS

Grizzly Rewild (2023)

60 min Documentary for CBC’s The Nature of Things

Written & Directed by Brad Quenville

PRODUCED BY Q CAMERA PRODUCTIONS LTD.

“Grizzly Rewild” documents a groundbreaking scientific study exploring whether or not orphaned grizzly cubs, that have been raised by humans, can survive in the wild. The story follows five orphaned cubs that are reared at Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter in Smithers BC - North America’s only grizzly rewilding facility.

Brad and Nick Quenville, were granted permission to film this unique group of bears during their time at the Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter, to capture their personalities, and then follow them post-release – to witness their second chance, at a life in the wild.

Arrival at the shelter:

Upon arrival at the Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter, the bears underwent health checks to provide a baseline of their physical condition which were then compared with their condition on release day. These intake and release health check ups highlighted the large physiological changes that the bears went through during their time at the shelter. Here’s a clip from the cubs’ initial health check, shortly after their arrival at NLWS.

Life At the Shelter:

Throughout the entirety of filming this documentary, our film crew could have zero impact on these rewilded grizzlies. Prior to their release, the team did their best to unobtrusively film the bears as they exhibited unique and natural behaviours. Here’s a glimpse of some of the playful and inquisitive behaviours we captured at NLWS prior to the bears’ release.

Release Day:

With a film crew of just two people, filming the release day for these rewilded grizzlies was one of the more complicated shoots of our documentary. After a roughly 1000km drive from Smithers to the bears’ home range of Bella Coola, the yearling bears had to be tranquilized, laid flat on wood pallets, slung under a helicopter and flown 50km to their remote release location. This meant air to air filming from an adjacent helicopter, in which we could only fit a single crew member: Nick Quenville - who was tasked with filming the bears on a long lens out the side of the helicopter, while Brad captured preparations and departures from the ground in Bella Coola. Upon arrival at the release site, Nick filmed the bears from about 150 meters away with both his long lens and drone, while also filming the reactions of our characters who stood next to him throughout the surprising events that unfolded. Brad’s role in Bella Coola became much more necessary than previously anticipated, when an unfortunate event would cloud an otherwise wonderful release.

Into the Wild:

The documentary Grizzly Rewild, was an ambitious undertaking - as rewilded orphaned grizzly bears had not previously been filmed post-release in North America. We hoped to be the first to capture natural behaviours from the bears like scavenging, foraging, fishing for salmon, and emerging from their winter dens - none of which had ever been captured on camera before. The most accurate GPS locations we could get of the bears, would always be at least 24 hours old, this meant we had to scour both sides of inlet by helicopter, by boat, and on foot in order to catch a glimpse of these bears before they inevitably disappeared into the thick coastal rainforest.

Rewilded sibling grizzlies emerging from their den

Raven scanning the river for salmon while Arthur keeps an eye out for threats

Rewilded grizzlies scavenging for spawned out salmon.

A Closer Inspection:

While following the bears from a natural history perspective, we also explored their habitat with independent researcher Lana Ciarniello, who lead the scientific study, examining how well these rewilded grizzlies were integrating with their landscape. Here’s a clip of Lana exploring the grizzlies’ den in the late of spring of 2022.

While following the fab fives return to the wild, we also followed the team of people that raised, released, tracked, and studied this unique group of bears.

The Rewilding Team:

Kim Gruijs is the senior caretaker at the Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter, where she began volunteering in 2008. Most recently Kim has been responsible for the care of orphan grizzly cubs, as well as helping with their health checks and later monitoring them in the field post-release.

Angelika and Peter Langen are the co-founders of the Northern Lights Wildlife Society in Smithers BC, Canada. They are responsible for animal rescues, medical care, animal care & enrichment, media connections and fundraising.

The Research Scientist:

Dr. Lana Ciarniello is an independent research scientist who has been researching black bears and grizzly bears since 1993 and is the principal investigator for the Orphaned Grizzly Cub Rewilding Research Project. Her work has informed bear conservation and coexistence strategies across the globe.

The Photographer:

John E. Marriott is one of Canada’s premier professional wildlife photographers and conservationists, with a career spanning two decades and images published worldwide by National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, Canadian Geographic, McLean's, and Reader’s Digest.

Raven and Arthur reuniting shortly after their release.
Photo by: John E Marriott

In the end

We were able to capture never-before-seen footage, while documenting the many challenges that rewilded orphaned grizzlies face upon their return to the wild. Although the study has not yet provided enough data to conclusively prove whether rewilding grizzlies works - from what we saw, there are good reasons to be hopeful that rewilding could soon be more widely used to help rebuild threatened grizzly populations.