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Archive for February 16th, 2015

The Right To Be Wild

Posted in Uncategorized on February 16, 2015| 5 Comments »


mexican wolf

Image of Nina: the last female Mexican Gray Wolf found in the wild. Courtesy of Emily Renn: Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project  

“About The Film and our Mission

The Right to be Wild, is a tale of Hope, Struggle, Survival and Determination.  It is the story of the Mexican Gray Wolf; a wolf that is one the Most Endangered Mammals in North America and the most endangered subspecies of Gray Wolf in the World. It is also a story about people who work hard and tirelessly trying to save them.

 

Mexican gray wolves were completely eradicated from the United States by the mid 20th century, and extremely close to extinction in the wild.

In 1976, they were listed under the endangered species act and protecting the species  became the law. Then, after an agreement was made between the U.S. and Mexico, a trapper hired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was sent to Mexico to trap the last known Mexican Gray Wolves in the wild. Five wolves were found and captured in northern Mexico. Only one of those was a female.

“Only One female left in the wild and she was already 10 years old!! You can’t get much closer to extinction in the wild than that!”

She was named “NINA” by her handlers at the

Endangered Wolf Center in St Louise, Missouri. 

At the time of her capture, she was pregnant and all her pups died after being born in captivity. Fortunately, she later had pups and they all survived.  Three of the five captured wolves, together with a few other Mexican wolves, found in captivity in the U.S and Mexico, became the seven original founders of the Mexican wolf line.

In the effort to keep the species from disappearing off the face of the earth,  a captive breeding program was established, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan was then developed to organize the captive breeding program; a program of the Association of the Zoos and Aquariums.  Finally, after about 20 years of growing the population in captivity, in March 1998, 11 Mexican gray wolves were released into the wild of the Apache National Forest of eastern Arizona.

“It was the first time in over 30 years that those mountains greeted the howls of the wolves and the wolves were able to howl in freedom in the wild.“

In the years since then, the U.S. FWS began to slowly reintroduce them back into the wild in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico.

“Because of state and federal bureaucracy, and hostile resistance from some people in the recovery area, the Mexican wolves haven’t been able to quickly thrive and grow in their former habitat, as their cousins in the northern Rockies have.“ 

 

As of Jan. 2014, there were only 83 Mexican wolves in the wild, a number that is far too small after 16 years of recovery and reintroduction and inbreeding depression is a concern within the current wild population.

The Mexican Gray Wolves desperately need public support – this is vital to the Mexican Gray Wolf program and the wolves’ recovery.  

We believe we can change the faltering return of this magnificent and beautiful animal with your help, by educating and inspiring people to the desperate plight of this important predator and supporting their recovery. This will strengthen the movement to give Mexican wolves the space and freedom they need. By expanding the recovery area and allowing them to disperse naturally in the wild without interference, they will once again grow into a self-sustaining wild population and reduce inbreeding depression.

Conservation organizations and many talented and dedicated people are working tirelessly to educate, inspire and promote wolf recovery to the general public. Currently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages the wolf  recovery program, with participation of the Arizona Department of Game and Fish. These agencies need to know that the public cares and supports Mexican Wolf recovery in the wild.

 

This documentary will tell an important and touching story, not only about these magnificent and beautiful wolves and their struggle to survive but also, the story about the incredible people who dedicate their lives to save them.

“The RIGHT to be Wild,” will give you an inside look at how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wolf recovery team works hands on with the wolves on the ground, in the air and with the captive breeding facilities for the Mexican Wolf.

“The RIGHT to be Wild”  is a very important story to share with the world.

 The film has beautiful, dramatic and compelling footage of wolves, nature and the people involved,  including youth and children in wolf country.

Please help Mexican Wolf Recovery by supporting this documentary “The Right to be Wild.”

Distribution with the film.

Our intention is to show this film at festivals around the world, be distributed by the educational market and air on PBS and other TV channels. Many film festivals around the country are already interested in the film. 

This is great because the more people that see the film, the more awareness and hopefully more interest in joining the effort to help ensure this important conservation project. This will hopefully results in a success story for both wolves and humans. 

 

What we need to achieve our goal and how the money will be used 

 $35,000 will enable us to pay overhead costs for 5 months specifically in completing the following tasks:

Complete the film in 2015. 
Film winter footage in wolf country, located in the White Mountains of Arizona. The costs will include gas, food, lodging and time away.

Make the official trailer for the film by a professional editor.

Complete editing the film.

Cover the cost for IndieGoGo,

Original Music is one of the most important elements of the finished product, and that can be expensive.
Professional audio editing and color correction. 
 Voice over for the film.  
If we reach above our goal of $35,000, we can do the following:
Cover the cost of an assistant editor  
Networking and outreach to potential donors/investors.
Marketing
Premiere -Film Festivals  submission costs.  
Artwork cover for the DVD and the DVDs themselves. 
If we do not reach our goal, it will difficult to complete the film in 2015.
Other tasks such as voice over, professional audio, color correction and music may have to be limited.
 

 OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP

Some of you might want to contribute and for whatever reason can’t do so at this time. We understand. But that doesn’t mean you can’t support us. Here are some ways:

  • Ask folks to get the word out and share this campaign.
  • Use the IndieGoGo share tools!
  • Send us some personal words of encouragement and/or your own ideas!
Information about the “Perks.” 
Some of the items are in limited numbers. First come, first serve.
The Perks will be send out to you, wonderful people and wolf supporters who have donated to this project by May 2015.

The DVD’s of the documentary will be sent out to our supporter/donors in the appropriate categories as the film has its Premier.  This way, you will be able to have the premier at home at the same time.

On the $3000 perk level and $7000 perk level, the DVD’s will be send out once the film is complete as a pre-release and for private viewing only.

 (Distribution, copying and uploading of the documentary The Right to be Wild on any media or private site, is not allowed)

Shipping costs for items going outside the U.S. is not covered. Traveling and lodging are not covered except on the $7000 perk level where we will provide lodging for one night.”

**Special thanks to Indie Gogo for providing this information! (Gohttps://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-right-to-be-wild)

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