Movie Stars

MOVIE STARS

Yogi & YoYo

In April 2006, we were informed that a movie company was looking for some quiet Yaks to appear in a movie they were shooting. We contacted the animal wrangler to see if they might want to use our Yaks. We emailed pictures of our yaks to the movie company and they decided that they wanted to use them. And so the adventure began!.

The animal wrangler contacted us and explained that the yaks would have to be able to pack. Immediately we started to work with the Yaks on a daily basis. We halter broke them and taught them to lead. Next we got them use to having a saddle on their backs. The next step was to add packs to the saddles. It was amazing how quickly they learned. We did everything we could to prepare them for almost any situation.

The movie in which they will appear is a Made for TV mini-series that will air in 2007 called Everest The story is about Laurie Skreslet and Pat Morrow�s quest to become the first Canadians to scale the highest mountain peak on Earth. Edmonton-born Eric Johnson stars as Skreslet. The movie features William Shatner, as a journalist who covers the Canadians quest to climb Mount Everest. Jason Priestly also has a cameo appearance as John Laughlin, a climber who helped organize the expedition. Everest is being shot in Banff, Jasper, Kananaskis and Big Hills Spring Park.

We were scheduled to film on June 5, 2006. We drove to Cochrane, Alberta on Saturday. When we arrived we took the yaks to the ranch where they would be boarding. The movie Company provided top-notch accommodations for both the yaks and us. Sunday we met with animal wrangler, TJ Bews. We worked the yaks and showed him what they could do. Then we headed out to Big Hills Spring Park to check out the location and terrain. There we met the director and producer. Monday morning we were up at 5 am. We drove out and picked up Yogi and Yoyo. We loaded them and headed to the park. Our shooting call was at 7:30.

There was so much to take in: costume, makeup and props trailers; movie cameras, booms, actors and extras. The park had been transformed into a movie set overnight. Everything ran like a well-oiled machine. The, director would call "Quiet on the set, rolling, background action" and away we would go. We had assumed that our yaks would probably appear in a background scene and have the camera briefly pan over them.. This was not the case! They were used in five scenes. They did everything from climb the side of a mountain, carry packs, climb stairs and drink from a brook on cue. We are so proud of them. They did great!

Everyone was so nice to us. We were a little star struck by the whole experience but ironically the actors seem to be awed by the Yaks. They all called them by name and made a huge fuss over them. They all wanted to have their pictures taken with Yogi & YoYo. It was an awesome experience that we won�t soon forget .You can find Yogi and YoYo getting some well deserved rest at the Zoo. If you're really nice they might even sign an autograph for you.

TRAINING THE YAKS