Instructions

Job Description

This short 3 minute video will be used as an introduction piece to a museum exhibit about the extinction of the California Grizzly.

I'm looking for a fairly neutral sounding voice that will lay out the facts of this tragic story. The images and the story itself are providing most of the emotional connections of the piece, while the narrator is providing the information. The piece ends with the narration providing the name of the exhibit: "Bear in Mind"

Bear in Mind Script 1/8/2008 Steven M. Bumgardner

It was the largest land animal in California, the biggest predator, and it stood at the top of the natural order.

It was an animal so revered for its size and power that it’s likeness adorned countless advertisements and logos, icons and artworks.

It is the state animal of California, and its profile has walked across the state flag for over 150 years.

The California Grizzly commanded attention, but this powerful animal was feared more than it was admired.

People were afraid to share the land with an animal of such strength, and horror stories of attacks created a climate of fear and hostility.

The grizzly was an easy target for early settlers, equipped with guns, traps, and a cruel sense of sport that brought this great bear to its knees.

In 1850, California was granted statehood and an estimated 10,000 grizzlies roamed throughout the land.

As the Golden State grew and prospered, swelling populations of people began to decimate the number of grizzlies.

Surviving bears were pushed deeper and deeper into the wilderness.

Within 50 years, the grizzly population had been dramatically reduced.

Any bears that still existed could only be found in a few remote mountains.

In 1924, a grizzly bear was spotted in the rugged terrain of Sequoia National Park.

This would be the last wild grizzly ever seen in California.

Just 75 years after California became a state, its grizzly population had been reduced from 10,000 to zero: The California Grizzly was extinct.

Although the Grizzly Bear no longer roams the California landscape, its story serves as a reminder of our changing relationship with the natural world.

The California Grizzly may be gone, but we can keep its story alive,
if we keep the Bear in Mind.