Casey Anderson & Brutus: Man & Grizzly Bear Relationship

GoPro: Man and Grizzly Bear - Rewriting History

More than a decade ago, Casey Anderson rescued a grizzly bear named Brutus and founded the Montana Grizzly Encounter in order to provide a natural home for other rescued grizzlies. On this Endangered Species Day, their unlikely friendship teaches us the importance of conservation and respect.

I by no means advocate people having grizzly bears as pets. In fact, that’s the very mess we are cleaning up with our rescue mission. No one should ever approach a bear whether it’s captive or wild. Two of the bears at our sanctuary are the result of people hoping to make “pets” of grizzlies and realizing after 18 years of living in small cages and being neglected, it was a bad idea. The responsibility of giving a bear a good captive life costs millions of dollars and is a lifelong commitment.

My relationship with Brutus is extremely unique. It comes from years of experience and training. And Brutus is an exceptional bear. Brutus’ life is about 90 percent bear. He runs, swims, and digs with the other bears in the sanctuary. But Brutus loves the 10 percent human part of his life also. We don’t make him do it, he wants to. It’s his extracurricular activity, and he enjoys the stimulus. It’s not only our responsibility to keep him physically healthy, but mentally healthy, and this includes his human activities. He gets excited when we pull his trailer up. He knows he is going somewhere and that he is going to have an unique experience that will leave him stimulated and fulfilled.

Together with his excitement and my passion for education, we touch the world and form a bridge between wild things and man. Through this bond, it is my hope that someday, there will be no captive grizzly bears, and that there will be a healthy population in the wild where they belong.

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Nicknamed the “animal magnet” as a kid, Casey Anderson grew up in Montana surrounded by wilderness and animals. After college, he became an animal keeper and trainer at wildlife parks, traveling to elephant orphanages in Kenya, hanging out with crocodiles and even getting thrashed by a mountain lion.

Then baby Brutus came into his life. Brutus was born in an overpopulated wildlife park. Casey rescued him from being euthanized and built a new sanctuary just for Brutus. A natural performer, Brutus was comfortable around people, making him a perfect assistant to teach park visitors about grizzly anatomy and conservation — and starring in educational videos and even feature films and television shows.

Today, Brutus continues to be Casey’s best pal. “Brutus has been a huge part of my life. He’s sort of like, well he actually was, my best man.”

Together they have worked on feature films, television shows, and commercials. When they are not on set they spend their days at Montana Grizzly Encounter, a bear rescue and education facility that Casey founded in 2004, located in Bozeman, Montana. Whether they are educating the public on grizzly conservation, wrestling in the grass, or on a location, this tandem loves what they do.

Born and raised in East Helena, Montana, Casey is a fifth generation Montanan and has been involved in Film and Television production for over 12 years. A wildlife naturalist, Casey has worked on several wildlife documentaries. He led two expeditions to Botswana’s Okavango Delta for the HD wildlife series Untamed. His acting resume includes the television series Wild Wacky World, a role in the feature film, Iron Ridge, and National Geographic’s Expedition Wild. Please check out his IMDB page for a current list: Casey Anderson IMDB Also check Casey’s website:www.caseyanderson.tv