Coventry Telegraph

PACK UP AND GO

DOCUMENTAR­Y FOLLOWS WOLVES’ EPIC JOURNEY TO FIND A NEW HOME

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THIS sounds like it could be a centuries old fairy tale, the extraordin­ary journey of the magical snow wolf journeying through the freezing mountains. And with thespian Emilia Fox narrating a tense voiceover, this dramatised natural history documentar­y certainly has a storybook feel to it. It takes some getting used to, as it’s really a wildlife film, but every now and again you half expect the animals to talk to each other.

Cameras have followed a pack of wolves living in the Alps, led by an alpha she-wolf and her mate. For 10 years, they have brought up and raised this family to become powerful hunters. Next spring, she will give birth to a new litter of cubs.

But we witness tragedy in the pack, one that turns her life upside down. The she-wolf has no choice but to leave her pack and head off on a long and dangerous journey in search of a new territory and a new life.

A few weeks later, in some pretty epic parenting, the wolf gives birth to six cubs, then fights and outsmarts predators, obstacles and blizzards to protect them at all costs.

Ultimately, the she-wolf travels an impressive 1,300km over four months, crossing almost the entire range of the

Alps.

There are some sad moments, as well as some uplifting ones, and we learn a lot about wolf society.

It seems there is politics, hierarchy, tension and sibling rivalry.

Sounds like most families we know...

 ??  ?? The cubs have only their mum to protect them after she is forced to leave her old pack Cameras capture the daily interactio­n of the snow wolves in this fascinatin­g documentar­y
The cubs have only their mum to protect them after she is forced to leave her old pack Cameras capture the daily interactio­n of the snow wolves in this fascinatin­g documentar­y

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