Idaho Public Television
Contact: Anne Peterson
(208)373-7368
anne.peterson@idahoptv.org
Jessi Bodily
(208)373-7369
jessi.bodily@idahoptv.org
PREDATOR LEGENDS of the West Come To Life on Screen
Grizzlies, cougars and wolves — creatures full of metaphor and part of the spirit of the
West — are featured in PREDATOR LEGENDS, a television special airing
_________________________________ at _____ p.m. on _____________________.
The 30-minute film seeks out these large, endangered and often reclusive creatures, and
people who feel the animals’ contributions to the natural world worthy of efforts to retain
a niche for them in Western wildlands.
PREDATOR LEGENDS goes in search of the meaning these large predators hold for
people of the West, says producer Jim Peck.
“The large predators are at the heart of what defines The West. They are a charismatic
presence in this beautiful, rugged and sometimes austere landscape. Grizzly bears, wolves
and cougars embody the sense of wildness that people imagine when they look at the
West. These creatures signify what is unknown and perhaps, unknowable about the
frontier,” Peck says.
“These savvy hunters are treasured and honored by Native Americans who find their
spirit and power in these enigmatic animals. These three wild species are living links to
another time. They are a piece of American history that has become a part of our
collective consciousness. The legends surrounding these creatures continue to amaze,
inspire and delight, whether they are told around a campfire in the woods or to a group of
children in an urban library.”
The film highlights two members of the Nez Perce tribe — the Native Americans, who
provided food and shelter to the Lewis and Clark expedition after the perilous crossing of
Idaho’s Bitterroot Mountains. Two authors, whose writings profile the large predators,
also share their beliefs and observations.
The production is filmed in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming amid the sweeping landscape
where these animals live where director and videographer Alan Austin captures images of
the living legends and the people who know them.
Nez Perce elder Horace Axtell says the animals are “in some sense, like brothers.” He
says it is about being connected: “All of these are connected in a way that old people
used to live a long time ago.”
Doug Peacock, author of Grizzly Years and a Viet Nam veteran, headed into the
backcountry to heal himself and met North America’s largest bears, bumping against
grizzlies accidentally. “Only an experience that original, that primal, that powerful would
have let me exorcise my own ghosts.”
Author Rick Bass says, “I don’t think we’ll ever know how much they’re intertwined
with the place.” The wilderness landscape of the American West has shaped the
American culture, he says, and the connection to the large animals of the wilderness is
still out there “even if you don’t feel it.”
This Idaho Public Television production is paid for by a grant from the James and
Barbara Cimino Foundation. Jim Peck is producer, writer and narrator of the film. Alan
Austin is director, videographer and editor. Morgan Dethman created the graphics. Keven
Peters is heard on the native flute. IdahoPTV is a statewide public television system that
produces a variety of programming, including the OUTDOOR IDAHO series, weekly
pubic affairs shows, regional FOCUSWEST programs and specials such as PREDATOR
LEGENDS and the Peabody Award-winning HEARTS AND MINDS: TEENS AND
MENTAL ILLNESS.
A companion Web site for PREDATOR LEGENDS — at
idahoptv.org/productions/predatorlegends — is also produced by IdahoPTV by Stephanie
Dickey and Lee Henkel. The site features additional information about the people in the
film, who shared their thoughts and emotions about the land around them and the wild
creatures that inhabit it with them.
For 42 years, American Public Television (APT) has been a major source of
programming for the nation’s public television stations. APT has more than 10,000 hours
of available programming including Discovering the Real World of Harry Potter, Globe
Trekker, Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World, Nightly Business Report, Rick
Steves’ Europe, Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home, Ballykissangel, Brian Jacques’
Redwall and The Three Tenors Christmas. APT is known for identifying innovative
programs and developing creative distribution techniques for producers. In four decades,
it has established a tradition of providing public television stations nationwide with
program choices that enable them to strengthen and customize their schedules. Press
should contact Donna Hardwick at 617-333-4455 ext 129 or via email to
donna_hardwick@aptonline.org. For more information about APT’s programs and
services, log on to www.aptonline.org.