Being Caribou (Institutional Use)

Just Say No to Drilling in ANWR
This movie was featured at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Murphys, CA. What a wonderful way of showing the American Public how Caribou survive in such a harsh eviroment. A married couple follows Caribou herds for approx 150 consecutive days to find out how they live and travel. The movie shows the place where the calves are born and how sensitive a time this is for the mothers and calves. The place where they give birth happens to be where the Bush Administration wants to drill and extract oil. It could be considered a political movie, but really it's a wonderful nature film.

Being Caribou
Having read the book, I was curious to see the movie that had been made at the same time. I would recommend that interested people look at both.

The movie doesn't capture the sense of exhaustion and long travel that the book does, but it shows the heartbreaking beauty of the landscape and the wildlife. One element not mentioned in the book is the little toy George Bush who rides along on the trip, his plastic eyes appearing to consider what he sees.

In the end, I don't think anything said in the book or shown in the film has any chance to override the wishes of people who have no values other than power and profit. If nothing else, though, the film provides stunning visual documentation of a place that may soon be damaged or even wiped out entirely.

Why ALL of ANWR needs FULL Nat'l Wildlife Refuge protection or MORE; filmed with a touch of humor
Unfortunately, the 1002 Lands at the northwest corner of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge don't have this protection from possible oil drilling, in an area estimated to have oil reserves equal to less than six months of current needs.

More unfortunately, the Porcupine caribou herd doesn't recognize that it is in potential huge danger by coming here to calve every year, as the cows have for time immemorial from this large herd.

Husband-and-wife Heuer and Allison gave themselves a belated honeymoon -- follow the herd from its winter grounds to calving area and back, all while documenting it.

Heuer has worked in national parks programs in Canada and South Africa and already done yeoman environmental work by hiking the entire Yellowstone-to-Yukon or Y2Y corridor to popularize the need for extended wildlife area protections for large mammals.

The humor? The movie starts with clips of George H.W. Bush, followed by George W. Bush, both saying...

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