Stranger Among Bears is a 2009 television documentary series about the retired school teacher Charlie Vandergaw, a self-taught animal behaviourist, who has lived in Alaska for over 20 years. Although against the law of the State of Alaska, the repeated and regular feeding of grizzlies and black bears over many years enabled Vandergaw to habituate these animals to him, thus allowing him to studying their patterns of behaviour.
In 2010, Mr. Vandergaw pleaded guilty to the aforementioned violation of the law, and was given a 180-days suspended jail sentence, plus a $20,000 fine. Nonetheless, Mr. Vandergaw is considered, even by some State wildlife officials, likely to be the State's leading authority on interpreting bear behaviour.
The documentary was aired on the cable TV channel Animal Planet.