Main Highlights:
- Wildlife filmmaker Casey Anderson left a camera in a Yellowstone bear den for 10 years—capturing a decade of secret wildlife visits.
- The footage revealed not just bears, but mountain lions, coyotes, and smaller animals, including one mountain lion that kept returning repeatedly.
- Anderson’s footage now appears on his YouTube channel, Endless Venture, and has gone viral on Instagram with over 512,000 views.
- He used a Reconyx Ultrafire camera, known for durability, HD video, and long battery life—ideal for long-term, weatherproof wildlife monitoring.
More than ten years ago, deep in the backcountry near Yellowstone National Park, wildlife filmmaker Casey Anderson made an off-the-cuff decision that would end up capturing something remarkable. He tucked a camera inside what used to be a grizzly bear den—just to see what might happen.
Fast forward a decade, and that small camera, left alone in the wild, has unveiled a treasure trove of untamed beauty.
“I was hoping maybe a bear would come back,” Anderson, now 49, told. “But not only had bears returned—so had mountain lions, coyotes, and even a surprising variety of smaller creatures.”
Among all the visitors, one mountain lion stood out. “It kept coming back again and again, almost obsessively,” he said, still in awe at what the camera had witnessed.
Yellowstone National Park, sprawling across 2.2 million acres, is known for being a sanctuary for wildlife. It’s home to more than 65 mammal species, including grizzlies, gray wolves, black bears, coyotes, and mountain lions. Birdlife is just as rich, from bald and golden eagles to owls, warblers, and countless waterfowl. In 2023 alone, nearly 4.5 million people visited the park—one of the highest counts in its history—hoping to catch even a glimpse of this thriving wilderness.
But what Anderson’s camera caught? That was a glimpse into something few people ever see: what animals do when no one’s watching.
Over the years, the camera silently documented seasonal changes and secret lives, capturing animals slipping in and out of the den. It all ended when a curious bear finally found the device and, well… let’s just say the camera didn’t survive the encounter. But by then, the memory card had done its job—saving years of extraordinary footage.
Anderson has now released parts of that footage on his new YouTube channel, Endless Venture, where he invites viewers to explore more hidden stories from the wild. “This kind of discovery is what drives me,” he explained. “I’ve spent my life finding these quiet corners of the world and setting up cameras to record what happens when people aren’t around.”
He also gave followers a sneak peek on Instagram—and the response was overwhelming. The short video has already racked up over 512,000 views.
People were blown away.
“So cool. Batteries lasted,” one commenter wrote, amazed at the camera’s endurance. Turns out, Anderson had used a Reconyx Ultrafire trap camera—built to withstand tough weather, capture high-def 1080p video with audio, and run on a long-lasting battery. It also has plenty of storage on its SD card, making it ideal for long-term wildlife projects like this one.
Another viewer commented, “That is beyond awesome.” And one fan, karin.mesa, summed it up perfectly: “How COOL is this! A decade of being ‘a fly on the wall.’ What a great nonintrusive idea!”
It’s rare to get a window into the unfiltered rhythms of nature. But thanks to one filmmaker’s spontaneous idea—and a camera that outlasted the odds—we got a quiet, powerful reminder of just how alive the wilderness really is.
