Casey Anderson knows about wild life. After graduating college he became an animal keeper at wildlife parks and orphanages around the world. He grew up in Montana and lives near Yellowstone National Park. Casey rescued a grizzly cub named Brutus from being euthanized and Brutus has been with Casey ever since. As a matter of fact, Brutus was the best man at Casey’s wedding to actress Missi Pyle. In Expedition Wild: Project Kodiak, Casey travels to Alaska where he learns first hand how the bears in the wild interact and survive. His intent is to teach his beloved Brutus how to behave in part like his wild cousins. Brutus has been fed by Casey and loves chicken, marshmallows, and especially sweets like donut holes and cake! That’s a far cry from the bears in Alaska who eat mainly fish. While watching this show, it is evident that Brutus is not too fond of fish. He would rather eat a chicken!
When Anderson met with journalists at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, he discussed his experience making this show.
Ads by Google Eat Eat Online. Shop Target.com. www.Target.com What's After the Aquarium Check out Whales in the Wild! See the Real Thing Live & in Person PrinceOfWhales.com Understanding How Grizzly’s Survive in Alaska “I traveled to Alaska where the real experts are, to witness in the wild how mothers teach their cubs how to fish. You know, we might think that fishing is an instinctual thing for a bear, but it's actually something that a mother teaches their cubs, and they all have different tactics and strategies. So I go to Alaska. I have learned from the best. I have watched how they teach their cubs, even tried the techniques myself. You know, it's apparent, as I'm teaching Brutus through this [show], that it's not easy. It's hard to replicate what a female bear does, but [viewers will] see the trials and tribulations that happen through the show. But it was a great experience,” Anderson explained.
As a matter of fact, in the show Anderson does his best to replicate the famous Brooks Falls in Alaska where the bears come to catch the salmon as they jump up the waterfalls. It’s not an exact replication, but for his purpose it does the job, although Brutus seems to be more excited to catch a chicken leg than a salmon. Viewers will definitely see that Brutus is a comedian. When Casey takes him to a swimming pool to teach him to swim, Brutus reacts much like a human child. At first he stays close to the side of the pool, then gradually moving on to doggie paddling. Finally the little guy (900 pounds worth of grizzly bear) has his instincts kink in and he turns out to be a fairly good swimmer.
Brutus the Comedian “Grizzly bears, like gorillas and sharks, are animals that have a lot of misconception, from Jaws to King Kong to several things about grizzly bears you see on TV that portrays them in a bad way,” says Anderson. “But a characteristic we don't give grizzly bears is this emotion and this sense of humor. And in this relationship [with Brutus] I have the ability to see some things.
Read on Yellowstone's Slough Creek Cutthroat Trout Bear Watching in Alaska Brown Bears in ANWR “And an example, one of my favorites, at the sanctuary, we have this waterfall that pours into this big pond. And when Brutus is out there with his bear friends, they will go out, and they love to get in the pond and swim and wrestle. Well, the water feeds back from the pond into this waterfall, and there's a float in there that if the drain gets clogged, that the pump will turn off. Well, Brutus has figured this out. He will put his paw on the drain to turn the fall off, but even more so, he will hold it there because once the waterfall goes off, the other bears become very curious of what is behind this waterfall, a place that they've never been. And they will go there. And he particularly will watch until they go underneath the waterfall and then pop his paw off. And, I mean, it's blatantly obvious that it's on purpose. He's a comedian, absolutely.”
Expedition Wild: Project Kodiak is filled with fun and education about how grizzlies interact in the wild of Alaska, and how Brutus interacts in a managed environment in Montana. This 900 pound ball of fur is still a wild animal, but he is so much fun to watch as Casey Anderson teaches him some of the things his mother would have taught him if he had one.
Expedition Wild: Project Kodiak premiers Monday, April 5, 2010 at 9 PM ET/PT on Nat Geo Wild.
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Poster Comment:
I posted this under Activism with a keyword for Resistance because I think it is somewhat demonstrable of how the Liberty Movement needs to work hands-on to assist those who have been made Liberty illiterate and dependent on the system but would like to transition to Independence and Constitutionality.