The Story of Bear 71

Bear71, or http://bear71.nfb.ca/#/bear71, is a 20-minute interactive documentary following the life of a bear living in Banff National Park in the Rocky Mountains. The documentary was created by Leanne Allison, and is narrated by the grizzly bear (bear 71) in a human voice, which you can track through an interactive map using audio, mouse clicks, and even your webcam. The narrative from the aspect of the bear is something that is achieved very well through this medium. The point of view helps detail the life of a tagged bear in a world that is not as natural as it used to be, and its struggle to survive in a changing environment with humans.

The interactive map, which shows you as “Human 1455”, almost as if you are a tagged animal, also shows the layout of the Bow river valley where bear 71 lives.

You can follow the bear’s actions, along with the actions of other animals and humans living in the same area, through a series of videos from hidden cameras as well as video, narration, and sounds of the environment provided by the bear of its own exploits. The interactive map includes dozens of hidden cameras, number labels for animals, and the geography of the Rockies with human development like freeways and train tracks included, which helps to show that bears, and other animals, are being logged as data in our world, rather than being experienced and interacted with in a natural setting. It also shows the struggle that animals go through living in a world where humans and animals struggle to coexist, since there are so many new obstacles they must face.

The narrator, or bear 71, begins the documentary with footage of itself being tranquilized, having a tracking collar put on that transmits its location at any point in time, and having a number clamped to its ear to show that its tagged, that number is 71. Bear 71 is then released back into the wild, and narrates its life living in a changing environment. The bear mentions that it lives in close proximity to humans, and was chased away from populated areas with rubber bullets 12 times in the first 6 months of its release back into the wild.

Bear 71 talks about how this is meant to train the bear to be deterred from humans, but that all it can understand is that it is being shot at with rubber bullets that hurt. This shows us that it is extremely hard for bears to stay out of contact with people who have moved into its own environment, and how we don’t see a bear, but a quantified number on a graph that is moving towards civilization and is stopped because of the radio transmission from its collar.

Bear 71 continues to tell us that now there are freeways and train tracks running through their home, and that while bears never used to cross these, now about 1 bear crosses every day in search of food or suitable habitat. Bear 71 talks about how the trains in the Rockies transport primarily grain, and that a lot of this grain falls out and ends up on or near the tracks. Bears are attracted to the food, and Bear 71 tells us that unfortunately 17 bears have been killed on these tracks in the past 10 years. A hidden camera shows Bear 71 walking through and underpass on a freeway, and then the camera shows another point in time showing campers walking under the freeway towards their destination.

This hidden camera shows just how close to proximity between humans and bears is, and that it is hard for a bear to stay away from people who might hurt it or its cubs. Bear 71 mentions multiple times that it sees joggers and hikers, even two little girls, but wants to be a “good” bear and adapt to the changing environment so it doesn’t attack them in fear for its own life. This is another example of how the human voice of the bear separates it from the normal statistics we see on screen. It makes us understand where the bear is coming from and even gives us a feeling of empathy and understanding for the bear since we can hear it in our own voice.

There are recurring sounds during the documentary. These sounds are the sounds of cars, trains, and humans which Bear 71 hears constantly. The sounds do a great job of showing that no matter where the bear goes, there is always some trace of humans. Bear 71 tells us that it thought having cubs would change everything. She wants to move up into the mountains, away from humans, so that she can protect her cubs. However, there is another, more violent species of bear that lives up in the mountains. These bears will eat their own young, and Bear 71 does not want to bring her cubs around them. Another reason why she cannot take her cubs to the mountains is the scarcity of food.

Bear 71 tells us the only meat she has had was a small part of a deer carcass that was clipped by a car and killed, and that she and her cubs survived primarily on berries. Her cubs are hungry, and Bear 71 decides they must go eat grain by the train tracks in order to get enough food to survive. As they are eating, a hidden camera shows Bear 71 and her cubs on the train tracks.

She says that she hears a sound and sees an approaching train. There is also a camera on the front of the train showing how quickly its moving and that it cannot stop, much like human presence in her own environment. Bear 71 says that she does not know what is coming towards her, only that her instincts tell her that she should protect her young. She faces the train head on, and is killed. We can hear the sadness in the “bear’s” voice, which is what this website does so well. It is interactive, but also makes us feel what the bear feels.

The next clip we see is researchers approaching the body of Bear 71 to collect data and move her off the tracks. Bear 71 continues to narrate that she is sad to leave her young cub to face the world alone. She remarks that the cub would be able to survive given normal conditions because of years of evolution training the cub, but that the world was different now, and these instincts might just get the cub killed, like what happened to her. She tells us that her cub has now been tagged and is now just another bear with a number to the researchers, and must survive the same way she did in a harsh environment.

The focus of this documentary is to highlight the negative interactions that humans and animals have in a place where animals have relied on instinct for years, as well as to show us that these animals are not just dots on a screen for us to track and collect data on, but living creatures who are just trying to survive like we are. The reason that this website does such a good job as a digital medium to communicate a point is through the interactive map and the human voice of the bear. We can see from the bear’s point of view, and hear from the bear in a voice we can connect with, which helps us understand how tough the changing world is for these animals.