WATCH OUT! IT'S PREDATOR NIGHT
`Valley of the Bears,' `Don't Feed the Coyotes' featured
Bears and coyotes run free — on the screen, that is — on the last night of the International Wildlife Film Festival, on Friday, March 17, at the Ukiah Civic Center, 300 Seminary Ave.
Two award-winning films will be featured. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with snacks and live music from Steve Hahm. Films start at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the door for $10 for adults and $5 for children.
“Valley of the Bears” (52 min.) is set in the coastal valley of Bella Coola in British Columbia during the salmon run. The film explores the challenges of adopting a practice of coexistence between humans and bears while conflict between them is on the rise.
The region has one of the highest concentration of bears and humans on the planet, causing this conflict to occur on a daily basis. Hunting of grizzly bears is prohibited and bear viewing by and for tourists is growing. Salmon numbers are low, forcing the bears to find other food sources such as foraging for food in town and breaking into people's homes.
With gripping characters, stunning wildlife cinematography and storytelling of the highest caliber, this film tells the intimate story of what it's like to live with an incredible yet unpredictable apex predator.
Also playing is “Don't Feed the Coyotes” (31 min.), which explores the intertwined lives of San Francisco's urban coyotes. The story centers around a 3-year-old coyote, fondly named Scout, and her territorial challenger, the scientifically dubbed 15F. Chronicling these animals' lives through the eyes of the two starkly different human researchers who are observing them, the film is about humans, the natural world, and the lines we've drawn between the two.
Proceeds from the film festival are an important funding source for the Redwood Valley Outdoor Education Project (RVOEP), a special program of the Ukiah Unified School District that provides outdoor environmental education programs to over 2,000 students a year.
For a full program of the film series and more information about the RVOEP, visit its website, www.rvoep.org. For further inquiries, contact Erich Sommer, RVOEP education coordinator, at 707-8417029.