REXBURG — It’s that time of year, students are migrating home for the holidays, but another group is also moving south for the winter. The new short film, “Animal Trails: Rediscovering Grand Teton Migrations,” explores the movements of several species as they migrate across the Grand Teton mountains.
Gregory Nickerson, with the Wyoming Migration Initiative at the University of Wyoming, served as writer and producer for the film.
“We have a goal of advancing the appreciation and understanding of migrations of big game animals in Wyoming,” Nickerson said. “In this case, Grand Teton National Park got together with us and wanted to do a project to promote the migrations that are in and around Grand Teton National Park.”
The park had already conducted several GPS migration studies and wanted to produce a film to highlight their findings.
To make this project a reality, Nickerson said they pulled footage from 17 different cinematographers for the movie. Contributors included photographers from National Geographic as well as local residents.
“There are some things that people have witnessed and had a camera out at just the right time in Jackson hole that are just totally magical,” Nickerson said.
Nickerson said gathering that footage took about four months. He said they are grateful for the hard work and generosity of these people, so that the filmmakers did not have to brave the winter conditions themselves.
The 25-minute film provides viewers with up-close shots of elk herds, deer and moose. Nickerson said he has many favorite shots that were included in the film.
“There's moose standing with their reflection of the Tetons behind them and the sparkle of snow falling,” Nickerson said. “You couldn't ask for a better location and a better canvas to tell a wildlife story than right in front of the Tetons.”
Nickerson hopes that as people see the video, they will be inspired to take part in the conservation efforts in whatever way they can. He says the first thing that people can do to protect the wildlife around them is to drive carefully.
“When it says drive slowly, drive 45 or whatever on the speed limit, that's the first, biggest thing you can do, because there are hundreds of animals that are getting killed in this greater region every year,” Nickerson said.
“Animal Trails: Rediscovering Grand Teton Migrations” is available to watch now. It is available to watch in person at the Craig Thomas Visitor and Discovery Center in Moose, Wyoming. The movie, along with more information, can also be found on the Migration Initiative’s website.