Movie Thoughts: The Hidden Trail: Tracking Canada's Coastal Wolves (2007)

 

• Released: June 29, 2007
  
• Directed by: Richard Matthews
• Running time: 43 min
• Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Young biologist Gudrun Pflüger travels to Canada's British Columbia to study the local wildlife, including its unique coastal "sea wolf" population.

My Thoughts

Not the longest or most detailed of documentaries, but I had a good time watching it. Gudrun managed to keep everything engaging despite not a whole lot of actual wolves being shown. It was interesting to see her journey. The journey itself was well-presented and we don't just get to see the wolves (near the end), but also the various other species she comes across such as black bears.

When we finally do get to see the wolves (which is a bit late in the documentary, I'll admit) it's a satisfying payoff as we get to see an entire pack of them, including a pup. What I was less fond of in this scene was Gudrun getting dangerously close to the animals, to the point she was basically surrounded by the entire pack at one point.

I get it, you want to study these wolves and after all this tracking you've finally found a pack. And there's the bonus of these wolves not being human-shy because they've likely barely ever encountered them before. But like...getting this close where you're putting yourself (and thus the wolves) in danger is a step too far. She was just lying in the grass amidst the pack which kept sniffing her and easily could've mauled her. And you know that if one of these wolves makes a hostile move towards her and attacks that that'll have bad repercussions for the wolf, possibly the pack, as they'll be seen as a threat to humans.

There's a way to study them, but make sure to keep a respectful distance both for your own sake and the animals you're studying. Basically standing in the middle of a pack is not a respectful distance. I totally get how awesome it looks to be close to (wild) wolves like this, but this is just...not a good look.

That said, I do consider this an overall pretty good documentary. Gudrun is a good presenter, the journey is interesting, there's pretty scenery, it's informative, and the payoff of us finally getting to see the pack is satisfying. That said, the interactions with Gudrun and the wolves (like said earlier) are a bit dangerous and irresponsible, and if you want to see this 45-minute documentary solely for the wolves you might be disappointed since they're only in the last 10-15 minutes of the entire thing or so. Still a pretty good documentary, however.