Chicago Illinois-1972: A Wolf In A Cage At The Zoo Searching For Freedom

$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.

Year1972
Decade1970s
LocationChicago, Illinois, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD
Collection1972 Chicago Illinois

$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.

A Wolf In A Cage At The Zoo Searching For Freedom — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1972, this vintage home movie captures a wolf in a zoo enclosure, viewed through a wire mesh cage. The animal paces and stands alert against a rocky backdrop, its light-colored fur contrasting with the muted green and beige tones of the setting. The footage exhibits classic Super 8 grain, slight color fading, and a handheld perspective, evoking a sense of quiet observation and longing. This archival clip offers a nostalgic glimpse into mid-20th century zoo life and wildlife documentation.

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: 125873991

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 1405 · 8mm · 5″ reel
Original reel label: planes,lake geneva,colby,brookfield zoo,shrman,lincoln park
Reel-level year note: 1972
Reel-level location note: illinois
Date: 1972 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: Useful for 1970s editorial or documentary requests needing visitor-shot zoo animal footage with a captive wolf seen behind wire mesh.
Period detail: The 8mm home-movie color, handheld framing, and muted zoo enclosure surfaces support the supplied 1972 Chicago context without showing a named landmark.
Home-movie behavior: The clip has an unstaged visitor viewpoint, observing the wolf through cage mesh as it stands and shifts within the enclosure.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include a light-colored wolf, wire mesh, rocky enclosure wall, barred openings, dark cage dividers, sunlit concrete, and faded green-beige film tones.
Film character: The footage shows 8mm grain, soft focus, slight color fading, uneven exposure, and handheld framing that read as physical home-movie texture.
Edit role: An editor could use it as a short cutaway, captivity insert, zoo-life transition, or reflective memory beat in a wildlife or urban archive sequence.
Historical context: The frames document a zoo visitor's view of a wolf in a constructed enclosure, offering visual context for animal display practices without proving broader institutional history.
Research note: No people, faces, logos, or audible music are indicated, but copyright, zoo property context, and animal-welfare framing should still be reviewed for the intended use.
Research search match: Likely matches searches for 1972 8mm Chicago zoo wolf, vintage home movie animal cage, captive wildlife enclosure, and archival zoo footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent shots from the same reel, then other 1972 Chicago zoo material, then broader vintage wildlife-in-captivity footage.

Still Frames From This Clip

1972 Chicago 8mm frame of a pale wolf seen through cage mesh against a rocky zoo enclosure wall. — A wolf stands alert behind wire mesh inside a rocky zoo enclosure.

1972 Chicago zoo footage frame showing the wolf near a barred recess, partly obscured by mesh and film softness. — The wolf moves near a barred opening, with the enclosure wall filling the background.

The wolf stands in a zoo enclosure, filmed through wire mesh with a rocky wall and shadowed recess behind it. — A pale wolf stands behind mesh beside a dark enclosure opening.

1972 Chicago home-movie frame of a wolf facing the camera through zoo cage mesh, with a dark enclosure opening at right. — The wolf faces toward the camera through the wire mesh of the enclosure.

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