BBC HOME ENTERTAINMENT'S THE BEAR FAMILY & ME HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY WHOM YOU KNOW Our Coverage Sponsored by Maine Woolens
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"It's me, bear!"
Doesn't everyone want a real pet bear? Presumably you all love stuffed bears as much as us but what could be more exciting than seeing a real bear up close and personal? You get to do this with zero risk involved from the comfort of your own home, thanks to BBC Home Entertainment. Black bears in Minnesota benefit from the care of Lynn Rogers brought to you by the BBC's Gordon Buchanan as they explore the Bear Family and clear up a lot of misconceptions about bears. We bet Lilly the Bear featured would love to meet Lilly our friend at Luke's Lobster...Lilly the bear we also learn likes green grapes, and we love seeing Lilly and her cub Hope eat out of Gordon's and Lynn's hands. Later, we see Hope catch crayfish.
Lynn and Gordon are great at showing the audience just how gentle bears are and how essential it is to use proper body language. Bears do attack if they are starving, hence the grapes. And did you know that biting is communicating? You are never supposed to run from a bear! Except maybe right now if you are a Detroit Red Wing running from a Boston Bruin...
Lions and Tigers, oh my, Gordon has worked with before but this is his first BEAR endeavor. Peachy's had one bear meeting in Tennessee on a summer vacation before prep school, about five feet away from a super cute baby black bear in the Smoky Mountains. The work by these guys is absolutely genius from putting on the tracking collars, taking the heart rates of the bears, and Gordon even climbs in the den, home of the bears. Will he find porridge? Lots of bear drama contained...
Warning: you’ll find yourself humming “Bear Necessities”, just like Gordon Buchanan, from time to time in this documentary. Produced by the brilliant minds at BBC Home Entertainment, The Bear Family & Me is probably the best argument against hunting bears in the wild we’ve seen. This documentary will sway any hard heart, and win over hopefully a few of those diehard hunters out there. And it’s not meant as a preachy documentary, really. To understand and study the bears of the Northern United States, Gordon Buchanan spends three seasons in the woods. The bear family in question allows him to feed them, photograph them, and even pet them in a non-Disney setting. Not a fairy tale, The Bear Family & Me traces the steps taken by leading bear researchers in the habitat to document the bear, and the dangers that beset these somewhat gentle beasts.
Not just brought by nature, the dangers that lurk ahead in their lives are also man-made. Once you’ve spent a day “bear-walking” with Gordon, you’ll understand more clearly a bit about bear psychology. Perhaps all the negative conjuring we’ve created around these creatures is more than they deserve and you’ll find yourself amazed at how logical a bear’s behavior can be. The closeness we develop with these animals is undeniable, while watching their growth and tracking them and their neighbors with the veterinary team, and Mr. Buchanan’s wildlife film crew. Hopefully, at the end of the disk, there will be a paradigm shift in perception and reaction, and Yogi the Bear can make his comeback. BBC Home Entertainment documentaries are worth their weight in gold, and need to be on every home family library shelf. The clear message: celebrate our animals. They aren’t any stranger than humans.
We love seeing how the seasons change and how the lives of the bears develop and you too we bet will become attached. You'll also meet Juliette, Lilly the bear's aunt and her three cubs. Juliette likes nuts. Also, we commend the superlative aerial photography by the BBC. This is a great escape from the city, and all you have to do is pop in this great program. Join the bear family!
The Bear Family and Me by BBC Home Entertainment is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.
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Length: Approx. 177 mins / single disc
Black bears are powerful creatures, virtually impossible to get near – and scientists have rarely observed their natural behavior in the wild. In this absorbing three-part series from BBC Earth, renowned wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan and pioneering biologist Dr. Lynn Rogers try to gain the trust of a wild bear family in a spectacular American wilderness. Over the course of a year, the pair follow cheeky young bear Lily, her mother June and new cubs as they emerge from hibernation in the Minnesota Northwoods. The rewards are huge as Gordon gains the trust of Lily and June and captures the emerging personalities of individual cubs to deliver captivating insight into the life of the black bear.
