Bettina Dalton, WildBear Entertainment principal and natural history filmmaker, dies – WildBear Entertainment has announced the death of Bettina Dalton. She was the Queensland-born filmmaker, producer, presenter and company principal whose work helped shape Australian natural history storytelling.
Dalton’s career crossed on-screen television, documentary production, wildlife footage libraries and impact campaigns. That made her a significant figure in the Australian factual sector. Her work also helped bring Australian wildlife and environmental stories to global broadcasters.
WildBear Entertainment said Dalton, known to many colleagues as Tina, died on the Sunshine Coast on 24 August 2026 after a short illness.
Film and television career
Across more than three decades, Dalton’s credits included the feature documentaries Every Little Thing, Playing with Sharks and Rachel’s Farm. Playing with Sharks was selected for the Sundance Film Festival in 2021 and later won awards internationally.
Her television work included Boss Croc, King Kangaroo and Dolphin Dynasty for National Geographic. She also worked on Australia’s Hidden Islands for Love Nature and Bushfire Animal Rescue for ADF, Arte, ZDFE, PBS Nature and SBS Australia.
Dalton was born and raised in Bli Bli on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. After completing a degree in Rural Techniques at the University of Queensland, she worked as a park ranger with the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service.
From Ranger Tina to Getaway
Her early screen work included an on-screen role as Ranger Tina in Mark Lewis’s Cane Toads: An Unnatural History. She then produced and presented on the children’s environmental series Bushbeat.
Dalton later worked with Sir David Attenborough on The Trials of Life in 1990. In 1992, she joined the original presenting team on Nine Network travel series Getaway.
She returned to Getaway years later as a guest presenter in episodes filmed in Greenland and Antarctica.
Building WildBear
Behind the camera, Dalton co-founded Absolutely Wild Visuals with Gary Steer in 1998. The business, later known as Content Mint, grew into a major wildlife footage library.
In 2010, Dalton established Wild Fury with Veronica Fury. Four years later, Wild Fury and Content Mint merged with Michael Tear and Serge Ou’s Bearcage Productions to form WildBear Entertainment.
WildBear Entertainment CEO Michael Tear remembered Dalton as one of natural history filmmaking’s brightest advocates. Producer and director Sally Aitken remembered her as a generous collaborator and a champion of women.
Dalton also mentored emerging directors and producers through initiatives including ShowdownDoc. She wrote three wildlife books and received the Gatton Gold Medal for career excellence and community impact in 2004.
She is survived by her daughters, Pnina and Chana, as well as her mother, sister and brother.
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