As a project, “Bear 71” fascinates because it operates simultaneously as a linear and nonlinear (read: interactive) narrative. On one hand, there’s the fairly straightforward account of Bear 71, a real female grizzly bear that was monitored for 11 years by forest rangers in Banff National Park before being killed by a train. But while this story plays out, visitors to the website are plunked down into a virtual representation of the forest that they’re invited to explore, much like a video game. The bear’s story — as told from her point of view through a haunting voiceover and the use of sporadic video clips — frames the entire project. The virtual forest, meanwhile, allows visitors to track Bear 71, as well as a whole host of other roving creatures that can be encountered through additional video clips.
In real life, Bear 71 was tracked and viewed as pure data. The virtual forest puts site visitors into essentially the same situation by transforming them into a traveling data point. In fact, the site is able to connect this data point to the visitor’s own webcam, so the user can click an icon and see live video of him or herself. As the “about” section of the website says, “We’re watching her (Bear 71). She’s watching us. And at the same time, we’re watching ourselves.”
The bear’s narrative is what makes the whole project accessible. The anthropomorphized bear is compelling and the narration is immeasurably enhanced by a mesmerizing yet unsettling score. The narration raises serious questions about man’s impact on wildlife (at one point, Bear 71 states the key to survival is to “learn not to do what comes natural”). However, it’s through the virtual forest that the project is able to raise questions about the use of surveillance in the wild as well as within our society.
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