Chicago Illinois-1957: Coyote and Polar Bear in Zoo Cages

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

Year1957
Decade1950s
LocationChicago, Illinois, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use

$149 USD flat · royalty-free worldwide · 4K restored master (MP4)

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Stockfilm licenses the rights identified in the applicable agreement. Additional use-specific review may be required. See the Licensing Guide and Archive Integrity.

Coyote and Polar Bear in Zoo Cages — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1957, this vintage home movie captures a coyote pacing inside a wire mesh enclosure at a zoo. The animal moves slowly across the concrete floor, its fur pattern and alert posture visible through the grid. Later frames show a polar bear behind vertical bars, its white fur contrasting with the dark metal. The footage exhibits classic Super 8 grain, color fading, and slight motion blur, evoking a nostalgic mid-century zoo visit. This archival clip offers authentic wildlife footage for documentaries, historical projects, or nostalgic content.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 124936173

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Commercial Direct license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

No recognizable people, logos, or music are flagged. Lower-risk for commercial use, subject to your own review.

People visible: No
Logos / trademarks: No
Audible music: No

Flags come from automated catalog metadata, not a legal opinion. The source is an original 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie reel. For high-stakes commercial use, request a full rights review.

Source & Documentation

Source reel: Reel 2302 · 8mm · 3″ reel
Original reel label: tw ross
Reel-level year note: 1957
Reel-level location note: morton illinois
Date: 1957 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level note shows the same year, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level location note is linked, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
Licensing route: Direct license available from Stockfilm

Confidence labels are defined on Archive Integrity. Fields without a recorded value are shown as not recorded rather than assumed.

View source reel context Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: 1950s Chicago zoo footage that can support documentary or educational requests for mid-century animal enclosures and visitor-shot wildlife scenes.
Period detail: The concrete pens, wire mesh, vertical bars, and faded 8mm color may show a mid-century urban zoo setting consistent with the supplied 1957 Chicago metadata.
Home-movie behavior: The clip has the observational feel of a zoo visitor filming animals through enclosure barriers rather than a staged wildlife sequence.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include a coyote-like canid behind wire mesh, concrete flooring, enclosure fencing, a dark feed or water pan, and a polar bear behind vertical bars.
Film character: The 8mm scan carries soft focus, blue-shifted color, visible grain, frame-edge darkness, and slight handheld instability typical of home-movie material.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a brief cutaway, memory beat, or transition for stories about zoos, captivity, animal display, or 1950s family outings.
Historical context: The footage documents animals viewed through cages and bars, offering visual context for zoo presentation practices without identifying the specific institution from the frames alone.
Research note: No people, logos, or readable signage are visible, but copyright, archive license, and any zoo property considerations should still be reviewed separately.
Research search match: Useful search matches include 1957 Chicago zoo 8mm footage, coyote pacing in cage, polar bear behind bars, mid-century zoo animals, and vintage home movie wildlife.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent shots from the same reel, then with other 1957 Chicago material, and finally with broader vintage zoo or captive wildlife footage.

Still Frames From This Clip

A coyote-like canid stands behind wire mesh in a concrete enclosure, consistent with the supplied 1957 Chicago zoo metadata. — Coyote-like canid seen through wire mesh inside a concrete enclosure.

The canid moves across a fenced zoo pen, filmed through wire mesh with faded 8mm color and soft focus. — Canid pacing along the inside of a wire mesh zoo enclosure.

Two partial views of the canid appear near the cage corner, with a dark pan on the concrete floor in the enclosure. — Caged canid near the corner of a concrete zoo pen.

A polar bear is partly visible behind dark vertical bars, its white fur contrasting with the shaded enclosure foreground. — Polar bear viewed through vertical bars in a zoo enclosure.

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