Wilkinson shares beaver science behind-the-scenes of Pixar’s Hoppers

Christine Wilkinson was featured in an episode of Disney Movie Surfers, going behind-the-scenes of the research that went into making the film Hoppers, understanding the habitat and impact of beavers on an ecosystem. 

In her role as a National Geographic Explorer, Christine took Hoppers star Piper Curda and Movie Surfers host Michelle Khare into the field to see beaver habitat in San Luis Obispo County. She shares beaver facts, shows how to look for beaver signs, and helps bring the real role that beavers play in an ecosystem to life for Disney fans. 

 “Beavers are both a keystone species and an ecosystem engineer,” she says in the episode. “The dams they build change the entire landscape and make these beautiful wildfire-resilient wetlands. And in so doing, they also create these habitats for all of these ‘pond crew’ creatures.” 

The habitat visit with Christine starts at 4:10. Prior to that, the episode features the filmmaking process for this Pixar film.