Get Closer to Grizzly Bears

Media News

New Delhi, October 09, 2009

For more than 20 years, Charlie Vandergaw has been living with wild bears in the Alaskan wilderness. For the first time ever, cameras were allowed into Charlie’s Bear Haven, and Stranger Among Bears reveals the isolated life of the retired science teacher who has received national attention for his unique but controversial relationship with the black grizzly bears. Follow the bear enthusiast as he befriends black grizzlies but antagonizes authorities.

Stranger Among Bears will air every Wednesday at 9 pm on Animal Planet.

Animal Planet will take viewers to Yentna River Valley in Alaska which has for years covered the tracks of Bear Whisperer Charlie Vandergaw’s life. The series Stranger Among Bears will follows the bears’ season from their arrival at Charlie’s Bear Haven in spring to their departure in autumn. Bucking public opinion that grizzly bears are vicious wild animals, Charlie develops a contentiously close relationship with the black grizzly bears that live near his isolated cabin, where he has gone beyond the realm of feeding the bears to taming and training them.

Rahul Johri, senior vice president and general manager, India, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, said, "Animal Planet’s passionate and talented hosts demonstrate their expertise and passion for wildlife every day at 9 pm. This new series presents yet another remarkable story of the bond that exists between humans and animals. An amazing story indeed."

Living with Charlie and the bears is cameraman Richard Terry, who brings a lifetime’s passion for nature to the series. Together they record bear behavior in a way never done before and reveal a kinder snapshot of some of nature’s most revered, intelligent and powerful beasts. But even as both men find themselves drawn into this extraordinary world, the Alaskan authorities are clamping down on what may prove to be Charlie's last year as the Stranger Among Bears.

Episode line up

Episode 1: Bitten

Filmmaker Richard Terry receives a rude welcome to Bear Haven when he finds himself caught between a mother black bear and her cub. Under Charlie Vandergaw's supervision, Richard soon learns that there is no room for mistakes when dealing with these dangerous predators.

Episode 2: Down the Barrel of a Gun

The tranquillity of Charlie Vandergaw's life among the bears is shattered by the arrival of two trespassing hunters. A tense altercation precedes a transformative experience for both Charlie and the hunters.

Episode 3: The Grizzlies Are Coming

Several weeks into bear season, Charlie Vandergaw still hasn't seen any grizzly bears around Bear Haven. Their eventual arrival changes the atmosphere, increasing the danger as the powerful beasts stake their claim to the territory surrounding Charlie's cabin.

Episode 4: Feeding Controversy

A recent change in the law has made feeding bears a serious offence, and if Charlie continues to defy the authorities he could end up in jail. A legal loophole may allow him to avoid prosecution, but it also raises the ire of those who seek to shut him down.

Episode 5: Man vs. Bear

Living side by side with black and grizzly bears is becoming more and more difficult for 70-year-old Charles Vandergaw. As the bears start tearing apart his cabin, Charlie faces the unthinkable: is he getting too old for life among the bears?

Episode 6: The End of Bear Haven?

Could Charlie's extraordinary life living with bears in the Alaskan wilderness be coming to an end? Increasing pressure from state authorities, including a raid by state troopers, threaten to undo his life's work. As winter closes in, and Charlie prepares to return to civilization, he might be saying farewell to his beloved bears for the last time.

For further information, please contact:

Hanmer MS&L

Mohina Babber

Mobile: +91 9811332022

Email: mohina@hanmermsl.com