This is my entry for “Y” in the Blogging A to Z Challenge. Throughout April I will be watching and reviewing a documentary movie from A to Z. Previous “Y” documentaries I’ve reviewed include Yellowstone: The World’s First National Park and You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train.
Title: Yellowstone
Release Date: March 2009
Director: [none listed]
Production Company: BBC Natural History Unit | Animal Planet
Summary/Review:
Yellowstone is a three-part nature documentary series filmed in Yellowstone National Park. The episodes each focus on a season: winter, summer, and autumn (spring gets short shrift but since the snows don’t melt until June, maybe there is no spring). I think if you drop some decent cinematographers with quality cameras into Yellowstone you’re guaranteed to get a gorgeous film, but nevertheless the visuals in this documentary are absolutely spectacular. The theme of the series is “The Battle for Life” so it does veer toward overly dramatic narration.
Winter – Yellowstone’s geothermal features and landscape contribute to long, severe winters with heavy snowfall. Wolves thrive in the winter as they are able to hunt weakened herds of elk. Bison use their heavy heads like a snowplow to search for edible grasses. A red fox dives through the snow to capture mice. And in my absolute favorite part, otters practically swim through the snow and use an opening in the ice created by geysers as a place to fish.
Summer – The season sees the emergence of a bear and her cubs. Other animals including pronghorn, bison, and wolves are also birthing young and keeping them alive in dangerous conditions. Cuthroat trout swim upstream to spawn and are hunted by otters and osprey. Toward the end of the season, bear climb high in the mountains where they feed on army cutworm moths (like blue whales living on krill!).
Autumn – Trees devour their chlorophyll and erupt in gorgeous colors. Whitebark pine cones are spread with the help of squirrels, bears, and Clark’s nutcrackers. Beavers repair their dams and stock up food for the winter. Male elk and bighorn sheep fight among themselves for the right to mate with their respective females. For the first time in the series, we also see humans as the elk and pronghorn migrate to lower ground outside of the park, with the wolves hot on their heels. The wild animals have to face the dangers of hunters, motor vehicles, industry, and residential development, while ranchers are uneasy about wolves attacking their herds.
Rating: ****
Panorama of the Mountains 