FILMS
FILMS ABOUT CARNIVORES
Watch films and documentaries about coyotes and other wildlife.
Wild carnivores are often misrepresented by fictional films. Help us change the narrative about wild carnivores by watching educational films and documentaries telling the real truth about wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, and other wild carnivores.
Wildlife Killing Contest Documentaries
Wildlife Killing Contests (2021)
Wildlife Killing Contests are competitions where the goal is to kill as many predator species as possible, within a set time frame, in order to win money and prizes. Wolves, pumas, bobcats, foxes, and coyotes are the most targeted animals, with cash pay-outs for heaviest and most killed. Rapidly growing in popularity, a single contest can result in approximately over 1000 animal deaths, in one small region, in a single night. With no fair chase principals applied, most animals are lured by distress calls and a promise of food. Defying hunting ethics and science, these contests are currently still legal on private and our public lands in over 40 states. While proponents state that they are “helping out ranchers” by controlling problem predators, current science shows that indiscriminate mass killing of predators is not an effective means of wildlife management.
DIRECTOR: Filipe DeAndrade, Project Coyote Ambassador
POST PRODUCTION: Comfort Theory
FEATURING: Camilla Fox, Founder and Executive Director, Project Coyote
Killing Games: Wildlife In The Crosshairs (2017)
On any given weekend, some of America’s most iconic wild animals are massacred in wildlife killing contests. Bloodied bodies are weighed and stacked like cords of wood, and prizes are awarded to the “hunters” who kill the largest or the most of a targeted species. Coyotes, bobcats, wolves and foxes are common victims of these contests; children as young as 10 are encouraged to participate. Fueled by anti-predator bias, these legally sanctioned but relatively unknown contests are cruel and foster ignorance about the critical role apex predators play in maintaining healthy ecosystems. These contests occur on both public and private lands in almost every state except California — where killing predators for prizes has been outlawed. In KILLING GAMES, a groundbreaking exposé, actor, conservationist and Project Coyote Advisory Board Member Peter Coyote — with environmentalists, ranchers, public officials and Native Americans — brings these shadowy contests to light and speaks out against this hidden war on wildlife. Reviews, awards, and more information can be found in our media release.
DIRECTOR: Camilla Fox, Project Coyote Founder & Executive Director
FEATURING: Camilla Fox, Project Coyote Founder and Executive Director; Keli Hendricks, Ranching & Farming with Wildlife Coordinator; Becky Weed, Project Coyote Advisory Board Member; David Parsons, Project Coyote Science & Ethics Advisory Board Member; Peter Coyote, Project Coyote Advisory Board Member; George Wuerthner, Project Coyote Science & Ethics Advisory Board Member; Michael Soule, Project Coyote Science & Ethics Advisory Board Member; John Vucetich, Project COyote Science & Ethics Advisory Board Member
Short Films by Project Coyote
Ecosystem Allies: Large Carnivores and How They Benefit Us All
This short film produced by Project Coyote describes the many ecological benefits provided by wolves, bears, mountain lions, and coyotes—from regulating grazing animal populations to boosting plant biodiversity. Misrepresentation and myths perpetuate the historic persecution of wild carnivores in North America. This film combats misconceptions and inspires appreciation for coyotes, wolves, bears, mountain lions, and all wild carnivores.
DIRECTORS: Camilla Fox, Sarah Gorsline, Michelle Lute, Renee Seacor
POST PRODUCTION: Project Coyote
FEATURING: Camilla Fox, Founder and Executive Director, Project Coyote; Chris Schadler, New Hampshire State Representative and Wild Canid Ecologist; Michael Soule, Project Coyote Science & Ethics Advisory Board Member
Documentaries Featuring Project Coyote
American Bolshevik (2023)
This is the story of how the most hunted animal in America not only survived a century of persecution, but thrived and expanded its territory. It is up to us, their human neighbors, to understand these intelligent and adaptable creatures so that we can learn to coexist. Stream on Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, and VUDU!
DIRECTOR: Julie Marron
FEATURING: Camilla Fox, Founder and Executive Director; Chris Schadler, New Hampshire State Representative and Wild Canid Ecologist, Project Coyote; Dan Flores, Ambassador and author of Coyote America
American Wild: The Suburban Coyote (2020)
Lords of Nature (2013)
Top predators may hold a key to life itself. Can people and predators coexist? Can we afford not to?
Birds, butterflies, beaver and antelope, wildflowers and frogs — could their survival possibly be connected to top predators like the wolf and cougar? Narrated by Peter Coyote, Green Fire Productions has created a captivating documentary that goes behind the scenes with leading scientists to explore the role top predators play in restoring and maintaining ecosystems and biodiversity.
PRODUCERS: Green Fire Productions
FEATURING: Peter Coyote (Narrator), Project Coyote Ambassador
American Coyote — Still Wild At Heart (2008)
This compelling documentary is a virtual case study of the coyote’s natural range expansion continent-wide. While the film unfolds with the return of coyotes to the San Francisco Bay area, it pursues the coyote’s story across the North American landscape — from Northern California to New York City’s Central Park to Chicago, and points in between. Through interviews with coyote researchers, ecologists, and experts, including Project Coyote Founding Director, Camilla Fox — viewers learn about the remarkable adaptability and intelligence of this successful native carnivore and the challenges and opportunities coyotes provide to both urban and rural communities. Order your copy here.
DIRECTOR: Melissa Peabody
FEATURING: Camilla Fox, Project Coyote Founder and Executive Director
Cull of the Wild: The Truth Behind Trapping (2002)
CULL OF THE WILD: The Truth Behind Trapping, exposes the inherent cruelty of body-gripping traps and snares and challenges the claim that trapping with non-selective traps is an effective wildlife management tool. Featuring new and archival footage and exclusive interviews with trappers, biologists, veterinarians, members of Congress, and wildlife advocates,CULL OF THE WILD educates viewers about the effects of trapping on wildlife and presents a stark picture of the realities of the fur trade and of federal predator control trapping programs. Order a copy here.
DIRECTOR: Vanessa Shulz
PRODUCER: Camilla Fox, Project Coyote Founder & Executive Director (produced prior to founding Project Coyote)
Recommended Wildlife Films
Medicine of the Wolf (2015)
Exposed (2013)
The Imperiled American Wolf (2012)
