"The Truth About Pennsylvania's Elk Herd", a 2008 release is a 2 hour and 42 minute film that gives a brief history of elk in Pennsylvania, but then settles down to focus on the life cycle of Pennsylvania Elk, the history of the herd from 1995 to 2008, and goes on to take a detailed look at elk management issues.
"Running Wild In Pennsylvania Elk Country" was released in September 2012. It begins with a mixture of stunning western scenes and two clips of one of Pennsylvania's most impressive bulls. At first this may seem a confusing contradiction, but as the dialog states, "When most think of elk, their thoughts
turn to the High Mountain West with its, windswept mountain spires,
breathtaking alpine meadows, and brutal winters."
"But they were gone from the state by
1870 as a result of unrestricted market hunting."
"Pennsylvania
became the first eastern state to re-introduce elk when 50 animals
from Yellowstone National Park were released in Clinton and
Clearfield Counties, and 22 elk descended from native pennsylvania
elk were purchased from a farm in Monroe County and were released in
Monroe and Centre Counties in 1913."
From there the film goes on to take a look at Pennsylvania elk through the seasons of the year. It does not; however, deal with elk exclusively, but also takes a close look at other species commonly seen in Pennsylvania Elk Country with special focus on the whitetail deer and eastern wild turkey. Each section features scenic segments depicting the season of the year as well as clips of some of the most notable plant life and birds that may be seen at that time.
Especially notable are three bull fights, one of which was filmed by David W. Anderson and two lengthy fights filmed by John T. Koshinski. Other brief fights and sparring matches are shown as well. Other rare footage includes a noisy brawl between several young turkey gobblers known as "Jakes: as well as three dramatic fights between whitetail bucks.
Also
included is a special section on character bulls featuring Bull 36,
more commonly known as "Fred", "Freddy", or "Dogrope", which leads into a
discussion of elk management issues, including actual footage from two opening days of the elk hunt near the elk viewing
area on Winslow Hill.
I am especially indebted to David W. Anderson, Marci A. Geise, Coy D. Hill and John T. Koshinski for contributing footage to the production.
There are also numerous still photographs by others. The front cover of the DVD jacket was taken by Coy D. Hill, while the rear cover photo of Bull 36 was taken by Ronald J. Saffer. Also contributing still photos for the film were Marci A. Geise, and Paul Staniszewksi. Both Saffer and Geise provided numerous photographs of Bull 36, while Staniszewski provided several photos of the character bull "Kisser".
Billie G. Cromwell and Ronald J. Saffer assisted with scripting for the film by valuable suggestions and fact checking on the natural history of elk and the history of elk management in Pennsylvania, while Paul Staniszewski contributed valuable editorial assistance.
To view numerous video clips from each film, visit each film's dedicated blog page, by clicking on the appropriate block in the page bar located just below the blog header.
Billie G. Cromwell and Ronald J. Saffer assisted with scripting for the film by valuable suggestions and fact checking on the natural history of elk and the history of elk management in Pennsylvania, while Paul Staniszewski contributed valuable editorial assistance.
To view numerous video clips from each film, visit each film's dedicated blog page, by clicking on the appropriate block in the page bar located just below the blog header.
Information on "The Truth About Pennsylvania's Elk Herd"Contains sample footage and ordering information. "Running Wild In Pennsylvania Elk Country" is the same price and may be ordered under the same terms.
Click Here to read more, or to order.
See other Video Clips by Willard Hill-visit my page on Vimeo.
Elk Country Visitor Center Theater Presentation
As of the autumn of 2010, the theater program at Elk Country Visitor Center, had no credits posted at the end of the presentation or available anywhere as far as I know. The following is what I do know about the situation.
Magic Lantern of Pittsburgh, PA was responsible for the development and production of the theater presentation and other audio visual displays and their name does not appear on the production.
Well known Elk County resident, Tom Murphy of Weedville, PA was originally engaged to film the elk footage and is responsible for providing the majority of the elk footage used in the presentation.
I was contacted by Magic Lantern in late 2009 and invited to submit. footage of other species of wildlife native to Pennsylvania, along with scenic clips showing the different seasons of the year, and of course whatever elk footage I desired with the caveat that most of the elk footage they used would come from Mr. Murphy's material, but there was still room for the unusual or the exceptional.
Much of the footage of wildlife other than elk, (whitetail deer, eagles, black bear, etc.) and some scenic shots used in the production was taken by me. Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of the situation was the selection of a bull fight which I filmed in 2001 as the featured fight sequence in the theater presentation. This was filmed with the Canon L2 Hi-8 camcorder with Canon 35-350 L lens and a Bogen 3063 Video head. It was filmed at long range, but this combination brought the action close for dramatic impact without infringing on the animal's personal space. This fight was between Pennsylvania's most famous elk, Bull 36 a.k.a. Fred, or Dogrope, and the Test Hill Bull, which was a monster 6x6.
