Casey Anderson is an American filmmaker, wildlife naturalist, and television presenter known for translating human relationships with the natural world and wild animals to various audiences. He has been a host and executive producer of the
Nat Geo WILD
National Geographic Wild (shortened as Nat Geo Wild and abbreviated NGW) is a global pay television network owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). T ...
channel television series, ''Expedition Wild'' and ''America the Wild with Casey Anderson'', and for raising
Brutus the Bear, a
grizzly bear
The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America.
In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...
that he rescued and adopted as a newborn cub. Brutus and Anderson, have appeared in many films, documentaries, television commercials, and live educational shows across the United States.
Early life
Casey Anderson was born and raised in
East Helena, Montana
East Helena is a city in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, United States, approximately east of downtown Helena. The population was 1,944 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Helena Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Lewis a ...
. He is a fifth-generation Montanan and was interested in animals from an early age.
["Casey Anderson: Naturalist — Grizzly Guy" (official Casey Anderson website).]
Accessed May 10, 2015. He attended
Montana State University
Montana State University (MSU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 6 ...
in
Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...
, in 1995 and studied wildlife biology.
[Casey Anderson Resume]
buck-fever.tv, accessed May 10, 2015.
After college, Anderson worked for the
Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) is a government agency in the executive branch state of Montana in the United States with responsibility for protecting sustainable fish, wildlife, and state-owned park resources in Montan ...
as a wildlife rehabilitation technician, and for several privately owned wildlife parks as an animal keeper and trainer.
In 2002, he adopted an orphaned
grizzly bear
The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America.
In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...
cub,
Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...
, from an overcrowded wildlife park named
Yellowstone Bear World
Yellowstone Bear World is a privately owned drive-thru Safari park, wildlife park.
It is located in Rexburg, Idaho, 80 miles from Yellowstone National Park.
It was established in 1998.
The park holds over 8 species of wildlife indigenous to ...
where the cub was destined to spend his life in the park; the bear lived in a sanctuary Anderson built just for him near Anderson's home, until February 2021 when he died at 19 years old.
Career
Brutus the Bear and Montana Grizzly Encounter
Anderson is the founder of Montana Grizzly Encounter Rescue and Educational Sanctuary in
Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...
.
Anderson founded the sanctuary in 2004 as a place to raise Brutus, rehabilitate
grizzlies Grizzlies may refer to:
*Grizzly bears
Sports
; Sports teams named after the grizzly bear:
United States:
* Memphis Grizzlies, a National Basketball Association team in Memphis, Tennessee
* Fresno Grizzlies, a Triple-A minor league baseball team b ...
rescued from bad captivity situations, and aid in the study of grizzlies. Brutus lived at the sanctuary, along with several other grizzlies.
Anderson served as the handler for Brutus, who has appeared in a number of television commercials, documentaries, and films. Anderson wrote a book, ''The Story of Brutus: My Life With Brutus the Bear and the Grizzlies of North America'' (Pegasus Books, 2010), about his relationship with Brutus, the founding of the Montana Grizzly Encounter sanctuary, and his observations about life in the wild and the preservation of bears.
Television host and producer
Anderson has been involved in film and television production since the 1990s. He worked as an actor, crew member, animal wrangler, and/or consultant for several programs produced by syndication company
Associated Television International (ATI), including leading two expeditions to
Botswana's Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta (or Okavango Grassland; formerly spelled "Okovango" or "Okovanggo") in Botswana is a swampy inland delta formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an altitude of 930–1,000 m in the central part of the en ...
for the ATI series ''Untamed!''.
[National Geographic Events: Speakers Bureau - Casey Anderson, Naturalist, TV Host.]
Accessed May 11, 2015.
In 2006, Anderson starred along with his bear Brutus in "Expedition Grizzly," an episode of the documentary series ''
Wild
Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to:
Common meanings
* Wild animal
* Wilderness, a wild natural environment
* Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed
Art, media and entertainment Film and television
* ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...
'' for
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...
. The episode, for which Anderson was also associate producer, focused on his relationship with Brutus and a year-long project they undertook to observe and understand the habits of wild
grizzly bear
The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America.
In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...
s living in
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
. He subsequently became the regular host and producer for the long-running wildlife documentary series ''Expedition Wild'', which has covered many different animals including
mountain lion
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...
s,
wolves
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...
,
wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
s, and several species of
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
s. Some episodes have also focused on the wildlife of particular areas such as Yellowstone and the
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...
. Originally airing on the
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...
and later on its sister station
Nat Geo WILD
National Geographic Wild (shortened as Nat Geo Wild and abbreviated NGW) is a global pay television network owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). T ...
, ''Expedition Wild'' has been widely syndicated, including on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
as part of ''
Litton's Weekend Adventure
Weekend Adventure (originally known as ABC Weekend Adventure and Litton's Weekend Adventure) is an American syndicated programming block that is produced by Hearst Media Production Group, and airs weekend mornings on the owned-and-operated stati ...
'', on
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, and online via
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
.
In 2013, Anderson became the executive producer and host of a new
Nat Geo WILD
National Geographic Wild (shortened as Nat Geo Wild and abbreviated NGW) is a global pay television network owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). T ...
documentary series, ''America the Wild with Casey Anderson'', which featured Anderson traveling across North America, focusing on the particular wildlife and ecosystems of different regions. Episodes of ''America the Wild'' have also aired in syndication under the ''Expedition Wild'' title.
In the spring of 2015, Casey establishe
VisionHawk Films a production company based in Bozeman, Mt. His company has produced three films with the
Smithsonian Channel
The Smithsonian Channel is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its media networks division under MTV Entertainment Group. It offers video content inspired by the Smithsonian Institution's museums, research facilit ...
, "''The Mountain Lion and Me''",
"''Into the Puma Triangle"'', and "''Growing Up Grizzly: a tale of two orphans''". With VisionHawk Films
Casey has been nominated for a
Primetime Emmy
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...
in 2022 for Cinematography with Legends of Ice Mountain
Anderson was formerly an executive producer and host at Grizzly Creek Films, the production company that was responsible for creating the series ''Expedition Wild'' and ''America the Wild''. As of July 2015, Anderson is currently an executive producer and part owner of VisionHawk Films, a new Montana-based film production company specializing in epic Natural World History filmmaking.
["VisionHawk - Our Team - Casey Anderson Executive Producer" (official website).](_blank)
Accessed June 30, 2015.
Other television work
Anderson frequently appears as himself on
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
shows, particularly those involving nature and animals. He was a featured survival expert on the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
reality show ''
Dude, You're Screwed
''Dude, You're Screwed'' (also known as ''Survive That!'') is an American reality survival show which premiered on the Discovery Channel on December 8, 2013.
Premise
The show is a competition between survival experts who take turns dropping ...
'', and guest starred (with his then-wife
Missi Pyle
Missi Pyle (born November 16, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in a number of successful films, including ''Galaxy Quest'' (1999), ''Big Fish'' (2003), ''Bringing Down the House'' (2003), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog S ...
) on a 2010 episode of ''
Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan
''Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan'' is a reality television series that featured dog trainer Cesar Millan's work with problem dogs. After nine seasons, the series finale aired on September 15, 2012.
Episodes of ''Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan ...
'' on the
Nat Geo Channel. He has been a recurring guest on talk shows including ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...
'', ''
Conan'', ''
Fox & Friends
''Fox & Friends'' is an American daily morning news and talk program that airs on Fox News. It premiered on February 1, 1998, and is currently hosted by Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade on weekdays. Will Cain, Rachel Campos-Du ...
'', and ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'', presenting a variety of animals including bears, baby
coyotes
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
, a
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
, a
bobcat
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...
and a
Eurasian eagle-owl
The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Palearctic, Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, ...
.
In 2013, Anderson appeared on two episodes of the reality show ''
Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life'' as "Casey", a "bear man" who was
Kesha's possible new romantic interest. The second episode ended with the couple deciding not to pursue a relationship.
In 2018, Anderson appeared with Josh Gates on Gate's show "Expedition Unknown: Hunt for the Yeti". They traveled together via helicopter to the area in Butaan where Anderson had pictures of Yeti tracks. No actual Yeti was observed, however, a footprint was documented and other peripheral evidence was observed.
Feature films
Anderson and Brutus both made their feature film acting debuts in the
independent film
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
''
Iron Ridge'' (2008), a wilderness rescue drama filmed location in Montana using an all-Montana cast and crew and financed by Montanans. Anderson played a hunter from the city who travels, with a friend, deep into the
backcountry
In the United States, a backcountry or backwater is a geographical area that is remote, undeveloped, isolated, or difficult to access.
Terminology Backcountry and wilderness within United States national parks
The National Park Service (NPS) ...
of Montana, while Brutus played a bloodthirsty grizzly bear encountered by one of the hunters in the wild. Although Anderson played a supporting role, he and Brutus were prominently featured in the advertising for the film.
Personal life
Anderson married Stephanie Gazda in August 2016. The couple live in
Paradise Valley, Montana
Paradise Valley is a major river valley of the Yellowstone River in Southwestern Montana just north of Yellowstone National Park in Park County. The valley is flanked by the Absaroka Range on the east and the Gallatin Range on the west.
The Para ...
with their two daughters and son.
Anderson was previously married to actress
Missi Pyle
Missi Pyle (born November 16, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in a number of successful films, including ''Galaxy Quest'' (1999), ''Big Fish'' (2003), ''Bringing Down the House'' (2003), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog S ...
from 2008 to 2011. They met in 2007 during the making of the film ''
Pretty Ugly People
''Pretty Ugly People'' is a 2008 American black comedy-drama film written and directed by Tate Taylor, in his feature film directorial debut. It was filmed in Montana.
The film is the story of a group of childhood friends brought back together b ...
'' (2008), in which Pyle starred, Brutus had a small role, and Anderson worked as animal trainer. Brutus the Bear was best man at their wedding, which was held in September 2008 at Holland Lake Lodge in Montana where the couple had met. In 2013, Pyle confirmed in an interview that the couple had broken up.
Sokol, Robert. "Missi Pyle Rides Life's Curves to Cabaret Act in The City."
San Francisco Examiner, Aug. 6, 2013, accessed May 10, 2015.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
Casey Anderson official website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Casey
Living people
1975 births
American naturalists
American television hosts