Washington DC-1948: Polar Bear Grooming In Zoo Enclosure With Waterfall

$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.

Year1948
Decade1940s
LocationWashington, District Of Columbia, United States
Duration6s
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.

Polar Bear Grooming In Zoo Enclosure With Waterfall — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1948, this vintage home movie captures a polar bear in a zoo enclosure, grooming itself near a small waterfall. The bear moves slowly across a concrete platform, its white fur contrasting with the gray stone and green-tinged water. The footage exhibits classic Super 8 grain, slight color fading, and a soft focus typical of mid-century amateur recordings. The scene is framed by dark borders, emphasizing its archival nature. This authentic slice of mid-20th century Americana offers a nostalgic glimpse into early zoo life and wildlife observation.

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: 6s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 127728214

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 record not linked for this clip
Date: 1948 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual or technical evidence; no reel-level note is linked.
Location: Washington, District Of Columbia, United States Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual evidence such as signage, landmarks, or terrain; no reel-level note is linked.
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.

Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Useful for 1940s editorial sequences needing visitor-shot zoo footage, captive wildlife behavior, or a quiet Washington, DC home-movie cutaway.
Period detail: The concrete animal enclosure, faux-rock wall, railing, and soft 8mm color may show mid-century zoo display design without identifying a specific facility from the frames alone.
Home-movie behavior: The clip carries an unstaged visitor perspective, holding on the polar bear as it moves and grooms rather than presenting a formal wildlife study.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include a polar bear, concrete platforms, low railings, faux-rock walls, greenish water, a small waterfall, dark film borders, and a brief adjacent animal view.
Film character: The footage has soft focus, visible grain, slight color fading, uneven exposure, and contact-sheet borders consistent with scanned 8mm home-movie material.
Edit role: An editor could use it as a brief insert, observational cutaway, zoo-memory beat, or transition within a sequence about animals in captivity or mid-century leisure.
Historical context: The scene reflects a period home-movie view of zoo-going and captive animal observation, with the enclosure and visitor distance visible rather than interpreted.
Research note: No people, logos, or audible music are indicated, but copyright, archive license scope, and any zoo or property-related use should still be reviewed.
Research search match: Relevant searches include 1948 8mm zoo footage, Washington DC polar bear enclosure, vintage home movie captive wildlife, and mid-century zoo waterfall.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with other shots from the same reel, then Washington, DC 1948 zoo material, then broader 1940s animal enclosure or home-movie wildlife footage.

Still Frames From This Clip

1948 8mm frame from Washington, DC showing a polar bear grooming near a low railing, concrete platform, rock wall, and greenish water. — Polar bear bends forward near the enclosure railing with water and a rock wall in the background.

1948 Washington, DC zoo footage frame showing the polar bear turned away beside a low rail, concrete ledges, water, and faux-rock backdrop. — The polar bear turns away on the concrete platform beside the low enclosure rail.

Soft 8mm frame of a polar bear lowering its head in a Washington, DC zoo enclosure, with railing, concrete, water, and rock wall visible. — The bear lowers its head near the front of the enclosure as the waterfall and water remain in back.

A brief 1948 zoo-frame view shifts from the polar bear area to an adjacent enclosure with a dark animal below and pale forms on the rocks above. — The final frame briefly shows another enclosure area with a dark animal below and pale shapes on the rocky ledge.

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