Mantracker
The last post I wrote, Addicted to Reality TV, got me thinking of a reality show that I figure most people don’t know about. It’s called Mantracker and it’s on the Outdoor Life Network. Set in remote areas of Canada two contestants, the prey, will be hunted by Mantracker and have 36 hours to travel 40 kilometers without being caught. They are given a map, a compass and have a head start on Mantracker. Mantracker has a horse, that he must stay on, an assistant and years of experience tracking prey.
No two shows are ever the same because the locations are different and the hunted contestants have different strategies as to how to cross the finish line before time runs out and without getting caught. I’ve seen episodes where people have hitched a ride to get across the line in time and others where they simply run day and night. It’s truly amazing how good this Mantracker is. He can spot partial boot prints in the mud and notices things like how his horse keeps looking back down the trail, maybe the prey have double backed on him.
Here is the shows website http://www.mantracker.ca/ check it out and maybe even sign up to see if you can out whit the Mantracker!
That sounds soooo cool!! I’d love to have a crack at that. Can you get that show in the UK?
uk is a fag country, mantracker is gay
Cool show! It reminds me of an old Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, I think it’s Hot Target or Moving Target where bunch of rich people hunt people for fun.
Since the tracker knows where the prey is going, it’s not that hard IMO. It would be better to have mutiple goal sites in various directions and a better strategy for the prey would be to split up.
he doesn’t know where the goal area is or where the prey starts from.
at least that is what the show tells you.
whrever the flare sets off thats where they are theyll no were they r after a bit
I watch the show regularly as I am in Canada….what I can not figure out though is if there is a film crew iwth the prey how do they stay out of the way? I mean they don’t miss a thing so how can they not be spotted by Mantracker?
easy they are spread out and are at various places that way if he sees one it does not nessicarlaliy mean that is where the prey is. and there are remote cameras on trees and on the roads that can capture the prey and mantracker at the swame time with out giving away the prey. Also Mantracker is told to ignore the camera men becauswe there are muptiple cameramen just wandering around ther assigned area.
There is actually an episode where a guy is running from Mantracker and you can see the camera man running to follow him, so this may or may not be true.
replying to james’s comments. no kidding about the camera men. its obviously set up. would mantracker not see the black camera with his binoculars. how many horses does he have anyway? why do they not issue them camoflage clothing……pink head bands, colorful jackets, shiny sunglasses, and the list goes on. how about athletic people with non athletic people running away from a horse? at night, who lights the fires, and would mantracker not be able to see it from a distance? are the teams allowed to carry matches or a knife? what if a mother bear with cubs is disturbed by two people in close range? the camera men would be the ultimate prey since they can pack camera equipment and run just as fast as the team players. its funny how it all fits correctly into a half hour time slot with the results ending in the last four minutes. does mantracker have to look so serious? every show, movie, or real life situations that i have seen, horses usually aren’t afraid of belly deep water. im not in the best physical shape but i would love to give it a run. how about a show that lets the prey have a 5km head start with no camera men to lag around. give them their compass, map, clothing of choice, and a few other survival items and send them on their way. if they make it to the finnish without being caught…..fine. if mantracker can’t find them in the 36 hours, then the real tracking skills come into play. a typical reality show interested in feelings, behaviors and personal weakness. yes i am canadian. sorry for the small caps and poor punctuation.
Wow! Whiskey you really don’t like the show.
Here’s a little information that might answer some of your questions. I know this because a friend’s co-worker got on the show and gave him the inside scoop. The parts you see with the camera man are a reenactment of what actually happened. So the players and Mantracker actually do this twice. The first time is the real game without camera men and the second is filming the reenactment for the show because, as you suggest Mantracker would easily see the cameramen. Obviously all this footage is edited for the one hour time slot.
Players are allowed to wear and bring whatever they want. Again obviously the more you bring the more difficult your journey will be, but yes they are allowed a knife and matches. I saw a show where one of the players used to be in the military and he brought some camoflauge to wear on his back that made him look like a bush.
From what I understand Mantracker doesn’t look for them at night because it is too dangerous for the horses. I also saw an episode in Newfoundland where the players broke into a cottage and stayed there for the night so there would be no fire to see.
Anyway take what you want from it and thanks for the comments.
thankyou everydayweekender. i guess i should of researched more but the internet doesn’t show much actual info on mantracker. i have a clearer view now and show greater respect for the show. maybe now i will pursue being prey for an episode. thanks again.
I asked (I believe one of the producers/someone who works on the show) how it all works and I was told that the camera crews are made up of adventure racers and experienced outdoor people and that they do their best to stay under cover… I actually expected to hear that it was a reenactment because I don’t care how experienced these camera men are they are not going to jump across a trail with a bunch of camera equipment. Now I don’t know what to believe… Oh well, I still like watching the show it’s quite entertaining.
Discovery Communications (The company that ownes all those awesome channels) employs some of the worlds best camera men. These people come from all over the world and are among the most physically fit people you’d ever meet. The guy that you spoke to was most likely speaking the truth. If you can’t believe that a cameraman could trek through all that, watch some of the behind the scenes episodes for Man vs. Wild. Their cameraman is just as ballsy as Bear Grills. Moreso, if you consider the weight of equipment he carries, and the things he does to get the shot.
Um…Yeah ok they do it twice!!What do you work for the show or something??
I’m watching it right now and as soon as i “actually” came to the fact that so called “Mantracker” is tracking 2 people with probably another 3 following them around, i realized that this show has to be the dumbest reality show on tv…sorry…
Reality TV is coming to the point that it has NOTHING REAL about it!!
Keep watching these fake shows people and let these half-ass producers offend what little intelligence we have left!!!
Just watched this series. I am amazed! In the first place Manquacker knows where the finish line is. The only tracking going on is along the easy roads and trails. Manquacker couldn’t cut it without a guide, horse and the directors pointing him in the right direction. I understand this show is for the mindless city drones that don’t know up from down. The producer should move back 3 seats on the special bus.
actually man tracker does NOT know where the finish line is he has a guide that knows the area that is it he does do all the tracking hints how he looks for clues and until you are on the show maybe you should not be running your mouth on the show because you do not actually know either. and by the way there are people out there that can track that is how if people get lost they can be found
Not sure why you felt the need to comment about his skills in a negative way considering you have no basis to make this statement. He IS in fact a tracker and has been doing this for the RCMP in search and rescue for many years prior to the show. Like any reality show they choose the most dramatic footage to air, but the game is real. Anyways, if you want to watch a fun show about real people trying to beat out a professional tracker then this is a great option. Enjoy!!
Yes, thank you. The second take makes sense as, clearly, any fool would see the cameramen, not to mention the tracks left by the cameramen. That was my pet peeve and I am really happy to learn its not another fake ‘reality’ show
border patrol tracks at night with horses because the horses can see well at night. Night time is not dangerous for horses
why cant kids be in the show like teenagers. they can do the same stuff and i bet me and my brother can beat mantracker .
Anyway, its a nice show.
I am located in eastern North Carolina and have watched several episodes. I rarely make comments like this but I have had similar thoughts about camera crews, etc. I do believe they would absolutely (no matter how experienced they are) inadvertantly get in the way or leave some kind of sign for Mantracker to find. I am also amazed at the choices made by the prey. Bright colored and inappropriate attire (ever hear of camouflage and boots), walking across open fields in tall grass, talking loudly (the man is on a horse that can hear many times better that we can), showing up obviously out of shape, carrying huge/heavy packs, going to bed early and getting up late, and the list goes on and on. Here are some thoughts for potential contestants. Why stop for the night – its only 25 miles. Travel light, fast and QUIET. Stay in the areas too harsh for the horses. If you think you may be seen – stay still and quiet – movement draws attention. This comment could easily wind up a book vice a paragraph. Oh well 22 years in the U.S. Marine Corps ruined me.
The Most dangerous Game?
I think some of you guys need to calm down. The show’s primary purpose is to entertain, and I’ve been watching it for a while and think it does that. The prey are obviously still being chased, and are still experiencing the thrill of the hunt, so really it’s a win-win situation. Obviously some scenes the cameramen will not be able to shoot because of geographical and circumstantial inconveniences…like being spotted by Mantracker. Would you rather these scenes be omitted entirely then? Or would you rather see an reenactment with cameras in proper positions that actually lets you know what went on.
I think the show is fine as it is, and personally I prefer watching city dwellers like me getting chased and making mistakes. If every participant was a trained Marine that ran through the night so that no one could see him or her, it wouldn’t make great television.
@Whiskeyspill: if they ‘made a show’ where people just ran without cameras or prey cams I don’t think it would be much of a show, do you?
And no, Mantracker has no idea where the finish line is…because that too wouldn’t make good television if he camped out there.
HOW CAN I BECOME A CONTESTANT ON THIS T.V SHOW I WOULD SCHOOL THE MAN TRACKER! I WOULD BE AT THE FINISH LINE AND HE WOULD BE IN THE WOODS/TRAILS LOOKING FOR ME FOR DAYS!………………………….any info send email to jaredmacdonald1@hotmail.com please and thank you…….IM WANTING TO BE WAITING AT THE FINISH LINE FOR THE TRACKER
http://www.mantracker.ca/apply.html
hope you get caught because you are very cinfident
good luck
ohhh im from Canada/Mulgrave Nova Scotia!! bring it on BOY TRACKER
I really enjoy the show. We are taping all the episodes just because we enjoy them so much. I too have wondered about the camermen and so my curiousity got the better of me and I googled Mantracker to death. lol.
I finally found this on a ‘cop’ website. Hope you enjoy this bit of info.
I saw Terry Grant (Mantracker) speak at this year’s SARSCENE in St. John’s, and he spoke a fair bit about how they put the show together. I always wondered how with the cameraman following the prey they managed to stay hidden desipite Mantracker being near by. Turns out, they film an episode over about 4 days.
The first day is getting all the scenery and filler shots while Mantracker meets his local guide and gets geared up. The second and third days are the actual “contest” with a camera crew following Mantracker and the prey having their own cameras to film what they can.
The last day, they go back with a film crew following both parties and re-inact key events to get good quality shots of things like the prey hiding while Mantracker’s horses go by 10 feet away and get multi-angles for the chase scenes etc.
It was kind of neat hearing how they put the show together, but his presentation was rather weak on imparting the skills of “mantracking.”
I could track idiots in the bushes. There’s trails everywhere which only benefits the old man. If he was running in the actual bush and not on trails he wouldn’t track shi*. Its all set up and am not sure why i wasted my time watching it. Plus he has people guide him that know the area? Yeah that’s really man track like. Look the guys a bum and if there wasn’t trails that led him wherever he wanted to go he wouldn’t track anything. If it were actual criminals he was chasing the marine would have killed him. Hero man tracker got stalked the entire episode. All im saying is there is no skill to follow a trail and watch your horses senses pick up noises. Anyone can do that. ANYONE.
I totally agree with you. This show should be called Trailwatcher. I don’t see the challenge for mantracker.
i wish they would get some real athletes on here. i try to stay in shape and just did an adventure race where we biked 68 miles on mtbs with 2.25 nobby tires, swam a mile, canoed about 3 miles, and hiked 14 miles in state forrest, off trails all in 15 hours. we didnt do the full 24 hours due to an injury. my point is im not in the best shape and covered that much distance, so y can these people go 22 miles in under 30+ hours? ya u need to stay hidden, but jog and just go, u shouldnt need to sleep, maybe rest for 10 mins every couple hours and u should be able to get through this in 14 hours. i wish i knew how to get on this show. if i did, im sure i would train harder than some of these guys did.
Sappers have to jog 21 miles in 3 hours with full gear on. They usually pick people with athletic skill and no outdoor skill, or outdoor skill with little athletics. Every time its no common sense, and no sense of being quiet when being followed.
http://www.mantracker.ca/apply.html
have fun
For one, The contestants are carrying heavy backpacks full of all the stuff they need like sleeping bags and water and slickers and food. And they have to go over trunks and that kind of stuff in their path when they are bush wacking. You can’t jog forever! And if you stick to the trail, Mantracker will find you so easily. It’s sometimes very hot or very cold and they can barely stop to rest. Excuse them for being a bit slow and tired. They are trying to go as fast as they can. And Mantracker is on a horse, so they always have to watch their backs.
I’m from antigonish nova scotia… Catch me if you can !!!!!!!!!
I sense a lot of frustration with some of you guys-not understanding the camera men angle. I’ve always questioned how it was possible, but eventually I quit wallowing in curiosity. I enjoy the show none the less. It’s entertainment and I just like the looks on the faces on some of the contestants when they are chased…..No matter what props and skills they use, it’s make for good entertainment and that beats a boring hour of ” birth stories” and “i didn’t know I was pregnant” etc..those are rality shows that needs to get canned in my opinion. So lighten up guys, they work hard to privide entertainment, lets milk it for all it’s worth.
Yeah, he is good at his job and it’s fun to watch and thats all that matters.
That’s ghetto bud.
@Ryan – All I’m trying to say is to use a little common sense. For instance don’t wear bright orange clothes while you are trying to elude someone or wear sandals in the winter. I don’t think I would agree with some of folks stipulating that Mantracker doesn’t have tracking skills – I have relearned a few things watching him. I do think that using someone who knows the terrain is stacking the deck though. Most terrain has natural funneling points that tend to push people traveling in the area toward a specific point. For instance ridges to steep to traverse that people have to follow vice go over, swamps and marshes, river crossing points and other things not obvious unless you have walked the ground. Someone familiar with the terrain would know about these and as we have seen on TV they can skip the tracking, head for that area, and wait for the prey to show up. That is why it is important to not give away your direction of travel hence my comment about staying in the areas to harsh for the horses to follow. Anyhow the point of the show is to have a some fun while still being competitive and I buy that BUT lets not give it away by not using our heads at least a little bit. A little common sense goes a long way and it makes Mantracker really use those tracking skills. Instead of letting the guide lead Mantracker on the long, although faster because of the horses, line of travel around the “bad” ground so he can wait for the prey to come to him. The gent that pointed out that if Mantracker was following bad guys using the methods we see on TV he would have been killed is right. When you are going after folks that can do you harm the dynamic changes but Mantracker works with law enforcement regularly and would no doubt change his methods to fit the siutation. Helicopters with infared and night vision technology go a long way. (Am I starting to get boring). Jason reiterated another point I was trying to make – show up in some semblance of physical condition, keep moving and your at the finish line before Mantracker knows what happened. If I was a decade or so younger I would be putting my name in the hat. It looks like my idea of fun.
Wow, some of you guys should learn how to search. I was just wondering the same thing about the cameras in the show so I did a bit of research and found this interview with Terry, who is the Mantracker.
Five or six cameramen film all of the sequences, divided up between the prey and Mantracker. With all of the activity going on, you’d think the cameraman following the prey would give them up. “Oh God no,” sighs Terry. “The cameramen.. the first year, um.. we had the same cameraman for the whole prey thing every show. He was awesome.. he was the best.. he was.. umm.. he learned very quickly that when I show up, the prey leave. They leave at a high rate of speed and he learned very quickly that he can’t run with them through the bush and film them.. they bolt. He films them leaving, and then he films me coming.”
The cameramen also play a joke or two on Terry, making things that much harder on him. “I know what type of boots the cameramen are wearing.. but quite often they’ll change just to bugger me up. So it’s like ‘Okay, this is not a prey boot but it’s not the cameramen either so this is an outside track.. somebody hiking or somebody walking their dog’ which happens a lot, so umm.. they don’t give me very much help.”
Here’s the link to the article: http://www.hcha.ca/mantracker.htm
Apparently he doesnt have to stay on his horse. I just got done watching an episode where he got off and climbed a big rocky hill his horse couldnt get up and used binoculars to spot the prey after which he scrambled for his horse and went after them.
As far as cameras go theres no way its filmed during the chase, rather the next day in a reenactment. This seems evident because I noticed the camera men filming the mantracker and his sidekick are on foot. Theres no way they could tag along without slowing the trackers down. Also many times you see the cameraman following the prey in which often times he will pop out of cover to get a shot of how far the trackers are away, yet the trackers are looking right at the guy. Seems very invasive to me. One shot showed a prey rolling his ankle, theres no way the cameraman knew exactly when to look at the guys foot to catch him rolling it on a bad step.
Also some events happen that are fairly scetchy. Another episode I saw shows the prey climbing a barbed wire fence. The trackers came to the fence later, followed it to try and find a break in it and came to a gate that was chained shut. Yet later in the show, they are magically right behind the prey again with no explanation of how they got past this obstacle.
Last time I checked the shows called “mantracker”, not “second guess where the guys might be going” or “hey lets block every freshwater area so they either come to us or give up from dehydration”. Overall I’d say the show isnt all as original or realistic as they make it out to be. I’d like to see prey who actually take it seriously and dont joke around and make loud noise, a tracker who actually tracks and doesnt just take wild guesses and magically find them, and perhaps a few episodes where the tracker is prey. I bet he isnt such a hotshot off his horse and on foot.
can anyone find a reason to have such manquacking skills in this day in age anyway? Why in the hell would someone like this get thier own show when they dont even show the REAL EVENTS that happened the “first” time…and what does this guy do in his spare time to keep his skills in “top shape”? why dont we give a hobo looking man a fake pirate ship and some actors with a couple of cameras?
obviously…this guy would see the camera crew…therefor the only reasoning i can see for why they tape it a second time is the same reason why these type of shows should not be advertised as REALITY SHOWS.
how do i get on the show?
http://www.mantracker.ca/apply.html
there ya go
Hey yall! I am nine yrs old and I love Mantracker me and my dad, Tim Sweat are wanting to be on the show so bad but, I don’t know if I am aloud to because of my age. How do you sign up?
http://www.mantracker.ca/apply.html
u have to be 18 or older
How difficult is it for Mantracker to follow the cameraman?
How about the van with the satellite dish on top?
Honestly, how is this anything but a totally fictional production?
your dumb nuff said.
It would be harder if there were multiple goal sites in various directions, The Tracker knows where they’re going DUH. How hard is that? Also, the prey should split up.
They DO NOT do a re-enactment. The prey are totally BEAT and no way are they going back over the course again even the next week, let alone day. Not to mention that they are NOT actors… re-enactment, what a joke. The interview with Terry makes it clear that the cameramen just follow along PART of the time and they know how to get down and out-of-site… that, and as he said in the interview, he knows what their boot prints look like (cameramen), so if they wander around a bit as well as hang with the prey, then seeing cameraman tracks is not something he is supposed to follow are use in tracking. Just one fact here — as he said in the interview, the cameramen film in REALTIME, which is obvious because those average folks who are the prey are not actors – that they could portray that kind of emotion (fear, adrenalin, running up and down hills etc…)… it’s real – that much I am certain of. Not to mention that most of those folks would not be able to walk one more mile, let alone 20 or so to do a re-enactment. What a JOKE… why make something so stupid up anyway? Sheeesh… better to believe that the film crew know how to hide and are only filming a few minutes of every couple of hours of actual pursuit. Doh…
More info from the MT site — guess they chopper people to a couple locations after the chase is over and do re-shoot some things, like MT going right past but not seeing them, or a couple of the sprint chases when MT surprises the prey in to the bush. This way, they get shots of prey running crazily through bush in frantic escape mode but are not giving away their position (as it is, yes, a re-enactment). There is one camerman with them during the chase accding to the website, and that does seem a little bogus, as it is one more person’s tracks for MT to spot, etc… and the line “he’s supposed to ignore the camerman’s tracks” does not fly…. if he KNOWS, then he’s going to alter his tracking obviously — looking for prey tracks by virtue of where the camerman’s are. And it says nothing about having cameramen all over the place… hell, those guys are pretty expensive, and as it stated on the site — one particular guy, an orienteering/racing athlete is the “prey cameraman”… so he’s the one to look for. It’s not ALL bogus, but clearly the observers do,in fact, have an effect upon that which they are observing — no way that they would not. It robs the show of some of it’s allure, definitely.
sorry to lurk, but sometimes you are the last one to the party and it’s already over… ;-/
PEOPLE READ THE WHOLE THREAD BEFORE COMENTING!!!!!!
All that doubt can apply and prove it is a hoax! If you are not that committed then you shold be ignored. If you believe it is fake, there should be plenty of people coming out of the woodwork for cash just to damage the show. Where are they?
hey mantracker iv watched alot of your shows and your pretty good but not as good as me and my best friend. you no what we will let u pick the most comfertable place for you. we hope to here from u becayse were intrested in your challange. have a great day
1613-770-1792
the show is legit the guy does this kind of thing for a living you downbreed fucks….
I do have to laugh at all of the punks that post saying they would pwn the man tracker without even knowing the score. I would love to see you on the show, there are many on it just like you, some get through… most get caught.
As for the camera men… The way I heard it went was that they staged the camera men on the obvious trails and coordinate through communication. The prey had transponders to give thier location away to the production crew and the prey had thier own cams. As the chase was on, a camera man followed the tracker on horse, as the tracker does not need to be stealthy usually, and the camera man needs only have a modicum of stealth in order to hide when he needs to… setting up ambush, etc… The camera men have the same tracks on thier boots to identify them, they are trained not to cover prey tracks, and the guys staged in the bush wear bright vests to identify them. Prey and Man Tracker are instructed to ignore the camera men.
Also from what little I have read and heard, the camera men can only catch key staged shots and need to return on a following day in order to get the action shots staged and recreated. Being a show with real contestants, not professionals, and insurance, they are not allowed to compete at night. It would be easier for the Man Tracker to come up on his sleeping quarry than the quarry to run through the dark. Horses dont mind the dark, and Man Tracker is horseback enough to not get too fatigued riding, unlike the prey on foot all day.
Laugh at Terry’s skills all you want, you will be thanking him when you decide to try and prove him wrong and get your ass lost in the woods and he tracks you down to save your ass. Not only that he does go after fugitives and trains millitary and other professionals the tools of the trade. Look up his resume one day. The stage is set with the odds placed in order to tell the tale. If you were a fugitive with no better than average outdoor or athletics skills, running from him, he would have a giude… why wouldn’t he?
Where does Mantracker sleep???
while his prey are freezing