An Investigative Documentary
Not Everything Wild Is What It Seems
A growing number of iconic wildlife images aren’t captured in the wild at all. They’re staged.
Every year, thousands of photographs of howling wolves, bears charging through snow, and mountain lions suspended mid-leap make their way into magazines, galleries, and award shows—celebrated as triumphs of patience and wild encounter. But behind many of these images lies a closely guarded secret: they are often staged, using trained animals performing just feet from paying photographers. Captured follows an unlikely alliance between two women who once publicly despised each other: a former head trainer at a powerful wildlife game farm and a wildlife photographer who has spent years exposing the industry behind these images. When the trainer walks away and brings evidence of abuse, animal deaths, and endangered species trafficking, their rivalry becomes a high-stakes investigation. As they navigate federal complaints, undercover recordings, and retaliatory lawsuits, the film unfolds like a whistleblower thriller—exposing how iconic wildlife images are manufactured, and the dangerous cost of telling the truth.
“The camera doesn’t lie. But the scene in front of it might.”
Heather Keepers
Former Big Cat Trainer & Whistleblower
Driven by a lifelong love of animals, former big cat trainer Heather Keepers risked her career, reputation, and safety to become a whistleblower exposing the realities of captive wildlife facilities.
Melissa Groo
Wildlife Photographer & Advocate
Renowned wildlife photographer and advocate Melissa Groo became impossible to ignore after uncovering a hidden world where captive animals are staged for photography and exploitation is concealed behind the illusion of the wild.
Despite their shared love of animals, these two women exist at opposite ends of the ethical debate about the role of game farms in the world of animal welfare and conservation. Captured follows Heather and Melissa’s unique journey from adversaries to allies to whistle-blowers.
We’re a crew of filmmakers, photographers, animators, designers, writers, and sound artists who know what it means to dig in and get our hands dirty. We’ve built a team that can do it all, from field shoots and edit bays to podcast studios and museum floors. Our team’s been in jungles, boardrooms, classrooms, and studios, pulling projects from idea to impact. We handle the details, solve the problems, and keep things moving when conditions aren’t easy. What keeps us here isn’t glamour or glory. It’s the chase.
Inspiration is easy to find when you pay attention to the small stuff. For Coral & Oak founders Nick and Katie, it began with a shared passion for the natural world and our place in it. Influenced by explorers and naturalists like Jane Goodall and Ernest Shackleton, they built careers at the intersection of art, science, and conservation, collaborating with storytellers and advocates around the world.
Out of that fertile ground grew Coral & Oak—a production company dedicated to telling stories that educate and inspire audiences to engage with the creatures, people, and world around them.
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