A9-Wildlife unwild
In zoos, museums, circuses, hoarded, as pets, caged, fenced, working.
Wildlife as pets, then dumped when no longer wanted. Some make a successful transition to being free again -the Pythons in Florida. Parrots in cities in America.
Wildlife as pets, then dumped when no longer wanted. Some make a successful transition to being free again -the Pythons in Florida. Parrots in cities in America.
List activity
308 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
28 titles
- DirectorDenis CôtéAlong the rhythm of the seasons, beasts and humans regard each other. 'Bestiary' unfolds like a picture book about mutual observation. A contemplation of a stable imbalance, and of loose, tranquil and indefinable elements.Wildlife at a Quebec zoo.
- DirectorAmy SchatzStarsLily TomlinPat DerbyColleen KinzleyNarrated by Lily Tomlin, this documentary short traces mankind's long history with elephants and explores the many problems that arise when they are brought to live in captivity in zoos and circuses.How elephants are trained for the circus.
- DirectorJudy IrvingStarsMark BittnerMaggie McCallIvan StormgartA homeless musician finds meaning to his life when he starts a friendship with dozens of parrots.Parrots left to fend for themselves when no longer wanted as pets. Making a good life in a different habitat.
- DirectorGabriela CowperthwaiteStarsTilikumDave DuffusSamantha BergA documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales, and its dangers for both humans and whales.Killer whales in small enclosures, with non-family members.
- DirectorEric Daniel MetzgarAn artist abandons his life's work to build an ark filled with hundreds of endangered animals. A story about time, death, art, love, and turtles.Wildlife hoarding.
Turtles in small cages. - DirectorEric SchwabStarsFirst KhunchanThanyarat PraditthaenCharlie SungkawessIn a far away land of jungles and wild animals, there lived a little orphan boy who was all alone in the world. But he knew that no matter how hard life can be, it's always better if you can share it with a friend. This is the story of how he found one, an elephant named Lucky. Together they face a changing world, but always manage to triumph. After a series of humorous challenges, they discover the Academy of Art, where elephants learn to paint. And Lucky becomes the star painter, a famous artist and celebrity. Finally, life is good for them, with money and food aplenty. But when Lucky falls in love with another elephant, Candy, and starts his own family, what will the boy do? My Lucky Elephant is an exotic adventure in a magical and beautiful place, and yet it's about what everyone is looking for in life - a true friend, a home, family.Working elephant in Thailand.
- DirectorLisa LeemanStarsIvor David BaldingFloraTen years in the making, ONE LUCKY ELEPHANT follows the poignant journey of circus producer David Balding as he tries to find a nurturing and permanent home for Flora, the 18-year-old African elephant that he rescued as an infant, raised as his "daughter" and made the star of his circus. David's love for Flora is put to the ultimate test when he realizes he made a terrible mistake keeping her as a solo elephant, and decides to retire her from the circus after 17 years of performing. Knowing Flora will outlive him, and with his health and finances becoming an issue, David sets off on a quest to find a home for Flora can live freely with other elephants. This complicated task begins with Flora's final circus performance in St. Louis and takes us on an emotional trek across America, then to Africa and back. We follow David's journey as he discovers just how difficult it is to find a proper home for an elephant in a world that reveres these animals for their majesty yet slaughters them for their ivory, adores them as cuddly Dumbos yet brands them "rampaging creatures". ONE LUCKY ELEPHANT raises critical issues about the well-being and future of the hundreds of thousands of endangered and exotic animals kept in captivity, the over development and destruction of their natural habitats, our intense and often damaging relationship with wild animals, and how all these issues have impacted the life of one very lucky elephant.Elephant from Africa, performing in zoos in America. Retiring a working elephant.
- DirectorMichael WebberStarsTim HarrisonTerry BrumfieldRuss ClearTake a journey deep inside the fascinating world where wild exotic animals are kept as household pets.Exotic wildlife in America, caged and dumped when no longer wanted. Pythons in Florida, loose and abundant from being dumped in the country.
- DirectorJohn IrvinStarsGlenda JacksonBen KingsleyRichard JohnsonTwo separate people, a man and a woman, find something very stirring about the sea turtles in their tank at the London Zoo. They meet and form an odd, but sympathetic camaraderie as they plan to steal two of the turtles and free them into the ocean.Turtles in a London Zoo.
- DirectorNicolas PhilibertPhilibert films Zoology Gallery of the National Museum of Natural History (today known as the Great Gallery of Evolution) for a period of reforms which lasted from 1991 until 1994. The documentary shows how to perform dissection or even how to transport or restore some of the pieces in the collection, such as elephants, rhinos, gorillas and giraffes.Hundreds of animals, at the Natural History Museum, Paris.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsDave HooverGeorge MendonçaRodney BrooksAn exploration of the careers of four unrelated professionals: a lion tamer, a robotics expert, a topiary gardener, and a naked mole rat specialist.Lions in zoos.
Molerats in research. - DirectorDavid GelbStarsJiro OnoYoshikazu OnoMasuhiro YamamotoA documentary on 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono, his renowned Tokyo restaurant, and his relationship with his son and eventual heir, Yoshikazu.Wildlife from the sea to the market.
- StarsAllison ArgoFrom PBS and NATURE - Exotic beauty, outrageous intelligence, and remarkably advanced language skills have made parrots one of the world's most popular pets. But unlike dogs and cats, parrots have not been domesticated. Their hard-wired ear-shattering squawks, and unpredictable behavior are designed for the rainforest, not for captivity. An intense need to bond, complex emotional lives, and the ability to reach ages of up to 80 or 90 years complicate the equation further. Sooner or later, many owners come to the conclusion that they have taken on a more difficult challenge than they can handle, and turn to already overcrowded shelters and sanctuaries for help. From the wilds of Costa Rica to the suburbs of our own country, parrot owners, rescuers, breeders, and biologists involved in conservation programs share their stories and the stories of their parrots in this bittersweet and unforgettable film about the difficulties and consequences of keeping and caring for parrots as pets.Parrots becoming adults and no longer wanted as pets.
- StarsTony RobinsonParrots as pets.
- DirectorBernard McEveetyStarsMichael DouglasJodie FosterJohnny WhitakerTwo young children, who, rather than part with an old pet lion who was once a circus performer, go on a perilous mountain trek to stay with a recluse friend.A circus lion.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantCharles RugglesWhile trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby.Leopard, living in the city.
- DirectorHarris FishmanStarsJoy HolidayRon HolidayChuck LizzaThe story of the Cat Dancers, one of the world's first exotic tiger entertainment acts, and the tragic accidents that brought their tale to an end.Cats performing.
- DirectorBarbet SchroederStarsKokoPenny PattersonSaul KitchenerA documentary that follows Dr. Penny Patterson's current scientific study of Koko, a gorilla who communicates through American Sign Language.A gorilla living in San Francisco for research.
- DirectorNicolas PhilibertStarsJudit KeleNénetteA documentary on a 40-year-old orangutan that is locked behind bars.Orangutan living in an outdoor zoo in Paris. Le Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes.
- DirectorAllison ArgoStarsAllison ArgoIndividuals care for a population of once-captive chimpanzees that scientists used for research.Chimpanzees in research.
- DirectorMatthew ColeStarsChantekAllan CordunerLyn MilesFrom PBS - This is the incredible story of Chantek, the orangutan raised as a human child on an American university campus during the 70s and 80s. Taught to speak in sign language, he is now living among his own kind at Zoo Atlanta, although he describes himself as an "orangutan person."An Orangutan used for research and taught sign language.
Human-animal relationships. Caregivers/researchers loved the orangutan, but didn't think about it's future, or it's current status, needing to be caged. Feeding orangutan fast food, because it loved cheeseburgers. - DirectorJerzy StuhrStarsJerzy StuhrAnna DymnaDominika BednarczykLeft behind by a circus, a camel wanders to the house of a simple middle-aged couple. Although the wife is initially bewildered by the strange and unexpected animal, her husband immediately adopts it as a pet. As the man and his new companion take their daily walks in the village, neighbors are drawn to the odd sight and approach him about riding the camel or using it for any number of purposes. He declines to exploit or capitalize on the friendly animal, and is met with barely veiled hostility. In time, the camel becomes a burden on both the town and the man, who's edged out of community affairs and lives on shaky ground with his wife.A circus camel in a small Polish town.
- DirectorFrancis LawrenceStarsRobert PattinsonReese WitherspoonChristoph WaltzJacob takes a job as an animal caretaker in a traveling circus. There he meets Marlena, a beautiful circus performer. Their shared compassion for a special elephant Rosie leads to love, but Marlena's cruel husband stands in their way.Circus animals.
- DirectorJoseph M. NewmanStarsVictor MatureRed ButtonsRhonda FlemingA circus owner tries to keep his financially troubled circus on the road, despite the efforts of a murderous saboteur who has decided that the show must not go on.A chimp act, lions, camels, colored elephants.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsDebra PagetPaul HubschmidWalther ReyerIn Eschnapur, a local Maharajah and a German architect fall in-love with the same temple dancer.India, tigers in cages. Working elephants.
- DirectorJames MarshStarsNim ChimpskyStephanie LaFargeHerbert TerraceTells the story of a chimpanzee taken from its mother at birth and raised like a human child by a family in a brownstone on the upper West Side in the 1970s.research animals.
- DirectorMikael SalomonStarsReese WitherspoonEthan EmbryJack ThompsonWhen a gang of African poachers raid her family's farm, young Nonni, visiting American teenager Harry Winslow and a local bushman guide must escape into the Kalahari desert and reach the nearest town.Trained animals in film.
- DirectorAaron SchockA hardscrabble traveling Mexican circus troupe has lived and performed on the road since the 19th Century, but will their art survive into the 21st?