B.C. bears to star in wildlife rehabilitation documentary

The staff of a wildlife rescue sanctuary in northern B.C. will take centre stage in a new documentary series — along with some of its furry friends.

The Northern Lights Wildlife Society, in Smithers, B.C., has been ground zero for the filming of Wild Bear Rescue, a documentary series set to air on Animal Planet next year.

Angelika Langen, co-founder and manager of the society, said the filming coincides with a record-breaking year for bear rescues; the facility is currently home to a whopping 26 bear cubs.

"We had some pretty exciting rescues for them to witness, and we also had some wonderful releases of the bears from last year," Langen said. "I think they had a lot of fun."

Langen told the story of a particularly dramatic recovery by a bear cub found with a broken jaw after being hit by a vehicle — all captured by the film crew.

All types of animals rescued

Langen said the society has been approached by hopeful TV crews before and said no, but this one felt like a good fit.

"It's a documentary about [the rehabilitation process], so it's not something where we have to interact with the animals and train them and so on and so forth, which is obviously, when you do rehab, not something that you want to do," she said.

The society works with all types of animals, not just bears. Early this year, they made headlines after taking in a baby deer a passerby delivered by C-section.

The series, Wild Bear Rescue, is set to air next spring.

With files from CBC Radio One's Daybreak North.