Zoltan the Wolf Man follows the exciting day-to-day activities of Zoltan Horkai, renowned wild animal trainer. Animals on Zoltan’s farm just outside of Budapest, Hungary include bears, foxes, deer, wild boar, and most remarkably, wolves. These animals have been trained for TV and film productions through Zoltan’s ‘natural motivation’ training technique, which focuses on respecting the animals’ instinctive behaviours, a practice not observed in the training of domestic animals. By following Zoltan through the various commission requests he receives, the series offers an exclusive inside look into the way wild animals are trained to perform for television and film productions.
Episode 1
On the first episode of Zoltan the Wolf Man, Zoltan Horkai, renowned animal trainer, welcomes us to the Horkai Animal Training Centre, home to more than 100 animals including several wolf packs, bears, and wild boars. Zoltan introduces the first pack of wolves while explaining his unique guidance method that revolves around natural motivation of the animals rather than traditional animal training. Zoltan must actively establish himself as the alpha male within each pack in order to maintain order and control among the animals.
Episode 2
This episode on Zoltan the Wolf Man, Zoltan prepares to create an audition tape of three different action scenes for a producer in Hollywood. The scenes will require scenarios involving the wolves, a bear, and a horse. The audition tape is due by the end of the week.
Episode 3
On episode three of Zoltan the Wolf Man, Peter informs Zoltan of a new commission they have received for an upcoming Hollywood fantasy movie. For this commission, Zoltan will have to train a stuntwoman named Virag to work with the wolves. Virag has never done work with live predators and appears to have some apprehensions about the job. Zoltan quickly introduces Virag to the wolves and both the wolves and Virag become more comfortable with each other. The first order of business is to get a shot of a wolf growling and showing its teeth in close proximity to Virag. To do this, Zoltan must interrupt a wolf while it is eating so that the wolf will react and protect its food. Zoltan and another wolf are used to make the first wolf feel threatened while Virag lies in position nearby. The cameraman is able to capture the action and the first part of the scene is complete.
Episode 4
On this episode of Zoltan the Wolf Man, the team heads to the south of Poland to shoot some scenes for an upcoming feature film called ‘Erlprince’. The production team requires four different scenes from the wolves and Zoltan has only one week to prepare for the shoot.
Episode 5
This episode takes Zoltan and his team to an ancient mountain range in Turkey for a new international film called ‘Grain’. The task that Zoltan has been hired for involves an intricate scene featuring a man and a wolf, where the wolf is required to stand still and then walk in circle around the man and a camping area, all in one take. Zoltan knows this is no easy task for a wild animal. Zoltan figures that they will require 3 days of training in order to accomplish the tasks required for this scene. Zoltan decides that Nelson is the right wolf for the job, but also opts to take Volko, another wolf, as backup.
Episode 6
This time on Zoltan the Wolf Man… Zoltan, Peter, and the wolves are off to southern Estonia, for a new commission. Before making the long trip to Estonia, Zoltan must attend to a few important issues at the training centre. It is mating season, and the wolves, especially the females, are behaving particularly aggressively. This makes training at the Horkai Centre very difficult, as the wolves are antagonistic and have very little interest in participating in any training exercises. Zoltan must separate the male wolves from the female wolves in order to maintain peace within the packs, and also to avoid any unplanned litters, which the training centre is not equipped to deal with at the moment.
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