Once the site for a pitched battle between India and Pakistan, there were guns booming from every corner. But today the high mountain towns of Kargil and Dras, flanked by the mighty Himalayas on all sides are teeming with life. The Himalayan brown bears have not been seen in Kargil and Dras for over a decade. Several years after the war, they are slowly making a comeback.

This film spotlights not just an endangered species, but also shows India’s border areas from a new perspective.  With peace having returned to this area, the bears are being seen again.   Award winning wildlife filmmaker and conservationist biologist Bahar Dutt teams up with Niyaz Khan on an expedition to explore how his work will lead to better conservation of this rare species.

A Kargil resident-turned wildlife biologist Niyaz Khan was hooked on to brown bears, since his first sighting in Himachal Pradesh is now turning the story of his hometown around. He takes the award-winning filmmaker and conservationist Bahar Dutt on an expedition to sight the bears that get easily camouflaged against the brown mountains.  After many challenges they manage to sight a Mother bear and her two cubs frolicking in the morning sun.

On their quest they highlight how new threats that are emerging for the species in the valley. The towns of Kargil and Dras are poised for many rapid changes. A heady mix of climate change and intense tourism is creating conflict, forcing the bears to come towards human habitation.  The film showcases the need to work with local communities in the remote villages of Dras, so some solutions can be found and the future of the brown bears may be secured in this fast changing landscape.  The film ends on a plea for the conservation of brown bears just like we focus on other species like the tigers, rhinoceros or elephants.