When videographer Hugo Kitching arrived in Jasper last year, there wasn't a casting call for the lead role of his film. Rather, he spent weeks along with his producer and fellow cameramen searching for the perfect subjects to fill the starring roles.
“It was a lot of looking without much luck at first,” he said, reflecting on his first few weeks in the park. “It was just day after day driving the Maligne Road, hiking around, talking with people and looking, and then finally it happened.”
While driving to Maligne Lake one morning, Kitching had a chance encounter with a mother and her baby. The mother, a strong, tall brunette, and the baby a spitting image—albeit miniature version—of its mom, were a perfect fit, and after that first glimpse, Kitching couldn't tear himself away.
From then on, he spent the next 13 months of his life following the duo through Jasper's wilderness, documenting their every move.
He found the film's co-stars in a similar way near Maligne Lake and the result is a documentary that debuts on CBC's That Nature of Things Oct. 15.
The film is called Moose: A Year in the Life of a Twig Eater and the stars are two moose and their calves. The result is an intimate look at the first year of life for a young moose.
After weeks of searching, Kitching said it was a relief to find his subjects, especially since moose populations across much of North America are in steep decline.
Under the guidance of acclaimed science and nature filmmaker Susan Fleming, and with the help of Maligne Lake warden Mike Wesbrook, Kitching began tracking the moose in May 2014.
His strategy for finding them each day was to always return to the spot where he left them the night before. But his strategy didn’t always work, with the moose long gone by the time he arrived, so he would have to revert to following the nibbled branches, droppings and tracks in hopes of happening upon the families somewhere close by.
“On good days I found them walking in five or 10 minutes. On so-so days it took half a day of tracking and looking, and on the bad days, those were moments where it was weeks and weeks without seeing them again.
“Sometimes I could spend day after day with them and then there would be a huge gap of time where I wouldn’t seem them for a month.”
Those gaps were disheartening for Kitching, as he packed his tripod and camera gear on his back each day in hopes of catching a glimpse of his subjects. However, he said, all of those discouraging moments would be forgotten as soon as he found them again.
“When I did find them and in that moment there was a beautiful snowstorm or you get some interesting behaviour it kind of made it all worth it again.”
Interesting behaviour included everything from watching the calves learn to swim for the first time to documenting the intricacies of the fall rut.
“The rut was incredible—just being able to watch different courtships, the male moose thrashing shrubs with their antlers, all the vocalizations that the males and the females make to each other and seeing how the calf reacted when big bulls would come in and get close to its mom.
“That’s one thing I’ll never forget was getting to witness the courtship between bulls and cows—seeing the cow become very interested in what the bull was doing and the scent he was leaving. That was just incredible to be right there for and it kind of felt like the months and months of work in the spring and summer and into the fall were kind of paying off in terms of being accepted by the moose and putting in that time so you’re in the right place at the right time for that magical moment.
“It was really something.”
The footage Kitching captured during his year in Jasper has been made into three similar documentaries for CBC’s The Nature of Things, BBC’s Natural World and PBS Nature.
Moose: A Year in the Life of a Twig Eater will debut on CBC Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. and will include footage showcasing the beauty of not only moose, but Jasper National Park.
“Part of the film is to show the amazing beauty and diversity of wildlife in the park,” said Kitching. “I hope we did our best to make Jasper look as beautiful as it is.”
Nicole Veerman
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