Growing up in Arlington
Heights, E.J. Horstman always had an interest in animals and the
outdoors, and television shows like "Crocodile Hunter" and its star, the
late Steve Irwin, helped fuel his passion.
Now in his mid-20s, Horstman is
living his dream. Not as a crocodile hunter, mind you, but as a wildlife
filmmaker, with segments on the National Geographic and Animal Planet
cable television channels to his credit.
Horstman left last week to film
his latest project, "Big Cats of India," for Animal Planet, but when he
returns he plans to resume his main passion: filming wolves.
Just last month, Horstman won a
Young Explorer's Grant from National Geographic to explore the plight of
Iberian wolves, which are being shot by hunters in Spain, though they
have protected status across the border in Portugal. "These Young Explorers grants
cultivate future leaders in science, conservation and exploration," says
Rebecca Martin, director of National Geographic's Expeditions Council
and Young Explorers grant program. "Since the program's inception,
we have provided almost 400 grants for work in 79 countries," Martin
adds. "The breadth of issues and discoveries has been extensive." The grants are intended for
students between 18-25 years old, Martin adds, and many of them will see
their work highlighted on National Geographic media.
It's a long way from Prospect
High School and the University of Michigan, where Horstman earned a
degree in wildlife film studies, but ever since he earned his Eagle Rank
in Boy Scouts, he knew he wanted to aim high. His career started out locally
with summer internships at places including the Peggy Notebaert Nature
Museum and the Shedd Aquarium, but after graduation, he landed the game
changer: an internship with National Geographic television.
From 2011 to 2013, Horstman
worked his way up to associate producer of the show "Secret Lives of
Predators," which took him to a dolphins' shoot in South Carolina and a
golden eagles' shoot in Mongolia. This past year, he worked as an associate producer and camera operator for National Geographic Wild channel's "Bandit Patrol." But it was an independent film,
"Ambassadors," that he made in 2013 with fellow Prospect High graduate
Kevin Van Egeren of Arlington Heights, which ultimately led to his focus
on wolves (vimeo.com/66467071).
Together, they filmed on location
at Wolf Creek Habitat in southern Indiana, one of the only places in
the country that allows visitors to get up close and personal with a
wolf pack. Their film was a finalist in the
Animal Behavior Society Film Festival, and led the young filmmaker to
learn of the Iberian wolves. With the grant he won, he has a chance to
not only get up close to wolves, but perhaps save them. "I think that in general, most
people don't understand the paramount role wolves play in keeping
together a fragile ecosystem," Horstman says. "As a keystone species,
they keep every other population stable in a habitat."
He points to the dramatic results
at Yellowstone National Park after wolves were reintroduced in 1995
after an absence of 70 years. It resulted in a transformation of the
ecosystem, all the way down to its rivers. In Portugal, Horstman will be
working with a conservation group to track and attach cameras to a pair
of wolves to get an inside look at their lives and expose their plight. "If I can make something people
want to watch, it will raise awareness about these animals and the
pivotal role they have in maintaining the natural world," Horstman says.
"Because, without them, nature falls apart."
To learn more about Horstman's
documentary project for National Geographic, or to contribute to his
field costs, visit his fundraising page: indiegogo.com/projects/save-the-iberian-wolves-documentary/x/9367389.
Or, visit him on Facebook, at facebook.com/natgeoiberianwolves.
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