‘Fifty Seasons’ documentary highlights Maine black bear research
By Wendy Watkins, Bangor Daily News Staff
A new documentary detailing 50 years of black bear research in Maine was released Nov. 22 on YouTube by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
The 14-minute film, produced by Lone Spruce Productions, highlights one of the nation’s longest-running black bear studies and the small teams of biologists who have spent decades tracking and monitoring bears across some of the state’s most rugged terrain in winter.
You can watch the video here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgArJtF1-W0.
‘FIFTY SEASONS’ — A bear cub is seen in the documentary “Fifty Seasons”, which follows Maine wildlife biologists as they conduct one of the nation’s longest-running black bear studies. The video is now on YouTube.
The documentary blends interviews with current and former researchers with field footage — including den visits, winter tracking and close-up encounters with black bears — to show both the scientific and human sides of the project.
“To me, there is nothing like a bear. They are just special,” said Craig McLaughlin, Maine’s state bear biologist from 1983 to 2002, one of several biologists featured in the film. “They are very adaptable. They are just an animal that inspires all.”