'Doc Moose' and his teen granddaughter share their adventures with 'kings of the bush' in new short film

Vince Crichtoncame by his love of moose the natural way: he inherited it.

His father, a wildlife biologist, often worked in thebush in northern Ontario. Upon returning to the family home, his father would tell young Vince about all the moose he spotted on his adventures.

Crichton's love of the "kings of the bush"started there. Today, he is also a wildlife biologist, known as Doc Moose, and recognized as one of the world's foremost experts on the animal.

Crichtonhas also passed that love of animals to the next generation in his only grandchild, Julia Hobson. Today, the Grade 9 student loves studying wildlife, particularly marine biology. Crichton introduced his granddaughter to moose as a toddlerwhile on a trail hike in Riding Mountain National Park in western Manitoba.

That story unfolds in a new short film for CBCManitoba'sCreator Network called Julia and the Big Bull. Hobson, 14, narrates the film, sharing stories growing up with her grandpa, Doc Moose.

WatchJulia and the Big Bull:

Julia and the Big Bull

5 years ago

Duration 3:29

A moose-loving grandpa teaches his granddaughter about loving the wild through the at-risk creatures. Courtesy: Electric Monk Media

The three-and-a-half-minute-longfilm, by Winnipeg-based Electric Monk Media Ltd., is a slice of Canadiana with a messageabout dwindling moose populations and the implications for the entire ecosystem.

The moose population in Manitoba is currently less than 15,000, said Crichton. In the late 1960s and early 1970sthe population was between 35,000 and 40,000. Crichton, who is also a hunter, wants more managed huntingwith enforceable laws for rule breakersand above all shared management of mooseso they survive for generations to come.

"I have been fascinated with moose all my life,"saidCrichton, who lives in Winnipeg.

"They are a Canadian icon and they have been good to me.They have got me around the world twice now."