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FIRE CRACKLES

ELEPHANTS TRUMPET

FIRE CRACKLES

INSECTS BUZZ

DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS

The planet is entering
its sixth mass extinction event.

The rainforest has been burning
at a rate of - get this -

three football fields per minute.

The sixth mass extinction
is not just something

that is going to happen,
it's something that IS happening.

Everything from pollution
to deforestation,

overpopulation, global warming.

Scientists say that means that up
to 75% of all species could vanish.

This may be the least-experienced
generation with nature.

Empty The Tanks, for so many
animals, is a death sentence.

We're talking about killing animals
that were raised in human care.

Keiko was murdered.

More than 300,000 dolphins
die a year

just as by-catch
for our fishing industries.

For many species,
it is almost too late

out there in the wild because
of threats like illegal trade.

HELEN MIRREN: Since the year 1500,

over 680 species have gone extinct.

Some are well known.

Many are not.

But in our interconnected
global ecosystem,

every species matters.

The signs are everywhere -
from fires consuming the planet

to plastic choking our oceans.

Scientists are sounding the alarm.

A new mass extinction is upon us.

There have only been five other
extinction episodes like this

in the whole history of the planet.

There are about 8,000
known amphibian species

that are going to be disappearing
very rapidly.

The baiji river dolphin in China -
we didn't act fast enough,

we didn't act smart enough
and they're gone.

Over 1 million pangolins
have been poached

over the last decade
and illegally traded and killed.

Everything that you can possibly
make a profit with

will be affected by illegal trade.

DR BYERS: It's our duty as humans
to do what we can right now,

starting right now.

People often tell me,
"But the planet will survive."

And that is true,
that Planet Earth will be here.

But it might be
a very different planet.

Or maybe we will not be part of it.

The loss of bees and pollinators

threatens our crucial systems
of agriculture.

The destruction of forests
and coral reefs

exposes hundreds of millions
to catastrophic floods.

Everything is connected.

Life on Earth hangs in the balance.

But all is not yet lost.

Threatened species
have escaped from extinction before,

with human help.

In the fight to save those animals
on the edge of existence,

we already have crucial allies
on our side -

zoos and aquariums.

Once synonymous
with exhibition and entertainment,

modern zoological facilities

are leaders in the fight against
mass extinction.

Extinction is a natural process,

but we have intervened
to such an extent

that there is no possibility
of natural selection any more,

because that takes time,
and there's no opportunity

for that adaptation to take place
in a species

whose habitats and environments
we are destroying.

And so it's the human intervention
that makes this

a completely different situation

than anything
that the planet's ever experienced.

Man-made extinctions
are happening every day.

We have to stop it as human beings.
We've just got to stop it.

What zoos have become now
are tools for conservation.

An accredited zoo
is a zoo that is dedicated

to saving endangered species.

The animals are in trouble because
of things that we did to them.

We destroyed their habitat,
we've removed their prey.

So we could just leave them alone
if we're willing to lose them.

For people working in conservation,
that's not an option.

We have to step in, protect them
from the threats that we're facing,

increase the numbers
and get them back to a healthy level

so that they can be
on their own again.

If we don't do something to bring
them into a rescue situation

and into
a conservation breeding effort,

we know that they're just
going to disappear forever.

Zoos have an important role to play
in these recoveries,

because the methods that we use
to grow a species

are things that very often
are designed or created in zoos.

Once numbering in the millions,

there are only
about 6,000 grey wolves left

in the continental United States.

In the 19th and 20th centuries,

the wolves were hunted
nearly to extinction

in government-sponsored
poison and trapping campaigns.

In Yellowstone National Park,

the last wild wolf pack
was killed in 1926.

HOWLING

For the next 70 years,
Yellowstone's top predator

was effectively extinct
inside the park.

It was only through
human-managed breeding

and reintroduction programmes

that we were able to rescue them
from the brink.

The Yellowstone wolves are
an example of a keystone species,

a species with an outsized effect
on many others in its ecosystem.

The disappearance of wolves
in Yellowstone

triggered a trophic cascade.

Elk populations swelled

and they overgrazed
on trees and plants.

Fewer trees
led to increased soil erosion

and attracted fewer beavers.

Without the beavers
to create natural dams,

there were fewer fish in the rivers.

Even the microorganisms that depend
on the fish were affected.

When the wolves were returned,
the effects were dramatic.

Elk stopped overgrazing
and trees grew back,

inviting more birds
and more beavers.

The beavers built new dams,
spawning new pools,

which attracted more otters,
muskrats, reptiles and fish.

The wolves also killed coyotes.

Fewer coyotes
meant more rabbits and mice,

which led to more foxes,
weasels, badgers, hawks

and even bald eagles.

The wolves restored the balance
of an entire ecosystem.

What we learn in the zoo

is now really becoming
practical conservation

in the field as well.

How to do small population
management.

Wolves are highly social.
They live within family packs.

If we took an adult wolf
and released it in the wild,

it wouldn't know the area
or the other wolves.

It would be in trouble.

The two strategies
that have been used

to get wolves back into the wild

are either to release
a whole family together,

so at least they have each other
to depend on,

or - even better -
take pups from the zoo population

and put them into a litter
in the wild.

Then they grow up in that family,
they know the environment,

they know the other animals.

In a highly sociable species
such as a wolf,

you need to use
that kind of a trick.

That whole process
is called cross-fostering.

Some pups that were born
at Brookfield Zoo

were moved down to Arizona
to be put into a pack

where there was
a newborn litter of pups,

then some of those pups
from the wild

were brought back to Brookfield

to be added to the litter
back at the zoo.

The moms are perfectly happy

to accept the new pups
into their family,

which is convenient for us

because it allows us to give them
better genetic diversity.

When the populations
have very few choices for mates,

they end up having to mate
with the cousins, half-siblings,

and that causes genetic defects.

When they started the aggressive
programme for the Mexican wolf,

they were down to just seven wolves

that were already
in protective care.

WOLF HOWLS

There are lots of positive,
encouraging conservation outcomes,

but when you see it all scaled up,

the sheer range of species
needing their help,

you realise how big that problem is.

We focus a lot on urgency
in conservation

and the kinds of indicators
of urgency that we use

are things like, for example,

the Red List of Threatened Species
of IUCN continues to grow.

We're adding threatened species
at a much higher rate

than against the historical
evolutionary background.

It might be that there's lots
more species for us to find

but if we destroy those habitats,

we're never going to be able
to find them.

So the best time to act would be
when there are still

hundreds or thousands in the wild
but you know they're in trouble,

and not wait until you're down
to the last few animals.

The black-footed ferret's
another example

where we let it go too long,

we let the population crash down
to the last handful of individuals.

And that meant we needed
a massive protection programme.

The black-footed ferret
was thought to be extinct by 1979,

after ranchers had wiped out
their main prey, the prairie dog.

But in 1981, a Wyoming rancher's dog

found several ferrets
living on his property.

Suddenly, there was an opportunity
to save a species thought erased.

American zoos
have committed millions of dollars

to saving the black-footed ferrets.

They have been released
back into the wild.

The problems they face,
however, are still there.

And those problems include
decimated prairie dog populations -

and their primary prey
are prairie dogs -

but also diseases.

The protected population that
we're breeding has to be maintained

until we can get the numbers up
high enough in the wild

so that even if a local disease
decimates a population in one area,

others can then move in
and repopulate that area.

DR RODRIGUEZ:
We know how to save nature.

And if you look at the world
of threatened species

and species that have recovered
from extinction,

you can see that we have the tools,

we have the knowledge,
we have the experience.

Some species have gone from
one breeding pair,

two breeding pairs left in the wild

to now be hundreds of thousands
of individuals.

And there are many examples
of these,

where you get the right experts
together, sufficient resources,

and they can turn around
the situation.

We can save species from extinction.

We know how to do it.
We just have to do more of it.

Zoos and aquariums
are our most crucial partners

in the war against mass extinction.
They're actually on the front lines,

saving species, providing and
funding conservation programmes

around the world and, importantly,

rehabilitating many animals and
rereleasing them back into the wild.

Even as more zoological facilities
increase their conservation efforts,

sceptics still remain.

Now, another bigger question
is taking centre stage.

Should we even have zoos
to begin with?

A group of animal rights activists
lined up outside as well,

calling for a boycott.
Animals deserve better.

They deserve better than to be put
on display for our entertainment.

A number of people do say
we should just leave them alone

and sort of let nature
take its course.

But it's not nature
taking its course.

It's... We killed them.

Visitors heading into SeaWorld were
greeted by loud protesters today.

It was part of a worldwide rally
where animal activists

called for the release
of all mammals living in captivity.

Don't go to SeaWorld.

There are a lot of people
who are talking about zoos

and using examples
from 30, 35 years ago.

We're in this industry because
we're passionate about animals.

And we wouldn't stay in the industry

if it wouldn't be willing
to grow with that.

This morning, SeaWorld announced
that orcas currently in our care

will be the last generation of orcas
at SeaWorld.

For some animal rights protesters,
that change was not enough.

These animals live in the sea.
That's where they belong.

I don't actually believe
that zoos should exist at all.

Boycotting zoos
in a blanket way hurts

because there are a lot of zoos
that are doing good work

in their local communities for
the local wildlife, and worldwide.

And so by indiscriminate boycotting,
you're harming a lot of good work.

We have to get our priorities
straight in the conversation.

There's a talk right now

about whether zoos and aquariums
should exist.

But in fact, they're our ark
against the sixth extinction.

We really need
to make a differentiation

between accredited zoos...

..and those that are not.

I think like any business,
there are bad players,

there are bad zoos.

There are what we call
roadside zoos.

There are bad zoos and aquariums
that actually should be shut down.

Zoos that are not accredited
should not be visited.

It's just as simple as that.

American Humane saw an opportunity
to improve and evolve

existing industry
certification programmes,

and we created the
American Humane Certified programme

for zoos and aquariums.

It's an evolution
on existing accreditation standards.

Global Humane is the only
third party-accrediting body,

so they go to zoos and aquariums
around the world

and they look at the status
of the welfare of those species,

and only institutions
that measure up

actually become accredited.

Often the thing with zoos is,
you always aspire to be the best,

but you often end up
being judged by the worst.

My name's Joe Exotic
and this is Sar.

There's a wonderful range
of excellent institutions

doing incredible work,

both for helping to conserve
species in their breeding programmes

and to inspire
educational awareness,

but also to contribute
field conservation support.

They do so much more
than just inside their doors.

So much research around the world
is funded by zoos and aquariums.

A lot of people think that
the ticket they buy to the zoo

just goes to the running
and operational running of the zoo.

Zoos are involved with a lot of
conservation projects in the field

and they provide financial help,

but more and more, actually,
they provide the skills

and the staff, and your money
contributes to all of that.

PROTESTERS CHANT

When you boycott
a good zoo and aquarium,

you're impacting conservation
projects around the world.

You're not just impacting
your local hometown zoo.

You may be actually
impacting the ability

to save an entire species
in another continent.

Wildlife experts believe
that some activists

misunderstand or misrepresent
the conservation role

played by modern zoos.

SeaWorld paints their whales because
they have so much fungus it breaks,

and nasty marks
from being in captivity.

I wasn't... I didn't know that.
They paint their whales? Yes.

Can you tell us where you get
your research from? Erm...

Maybe you weren't inspired,

but what do you say to the kids
that were inspired by SeaWorld

and have grown up
to care for the environment?

Well, I did learn to care
for the environment by go...

Well, never mind. Scratch that.

It hurts me that some people
actually boycott zoos

because there's many, many
very good zoos.

And we really need to support
good zoos

because they do amazing work
for conservation.

Those animal extremists
sit on the sidelines.

They're not even in the game.

Zoos receive, I think,
if I'm not mistaken,

something in the order of
800 million visitors per year.

And they also invest
hundreds of millions of dollars

in conservation in the wild.

So what you see at a zoo
is just part of the picture.

There are many other things
going on behind the scenes.

So, the Sumatran rhino's
one of the most threatened species

in the world, and that is reduced
to very small, isolated populations.

RHINO GRUNTS

What we're doing with this project,
the Sumatran Rhino Rescue,

is to identify
some of these individuals

that exist in populations
of one or two

in very small pockets of forest
and put them into human care.

They can reproduce
and create a population

of about 30 rhinos,
which are the minimum that we think

that are necessary
to reintroduce into the wild.

And if we were to just
let the rhino go and not intervene,

most likely, it would be extinct
within a few years.

It requires lots of expertise

and the zoos
and the people in the zoo world,

much of this expertise
has been developed there.

Is that normal or imaginary,
in other words?

If you feel her jaw...

that tooth is sticking out
right here.

The level of professional expertise

and training and science
and stewardship

that is happening
in all of these institutions

is remarkable.

It's actually boots on the ground,
working today to care for animals

and to extend the care of our
animals to animals in the wild.

Clear.

I spent a lot of my career
in rescue and rehab.

And when I'm, you know,
3am on a holiday

neck deep in freezing cold water,
helping a stranded animal,

the person next to me is somebody
from a zoo or an aquarium.

Oh, my gosh. It's in there.

Oh, my gosh.
Sorry, big girl. OK.

You're doing good, right, girl?
Oh, my gosh!

I think, er... I feel awesome.
I mean, this is the whole reason

I wanted to be
a wildlife veterinarian -

helping animals out, especially
those ones affected by us, right?

So... oh, my gosh,
it feels really good.

Heart's kind of going.
That was good.

A lot of people think that whales
and dolphins living in the ocean

have a pretty easy-going existence.

But the bottom line is

we've created so many problems
for them as a species -

humans have - that we're seeing
significant declines

in the populations of wild dolphins
and whales.

Everything that we do
as a growing species on our planet

has implications for the ocean

and for the animals
that live in the ocean.

The baiji, a freshwater dolphin,
once roamed the Yangtze River.

HORN BLARES

Their population declined
drastically as China industrialised.

In the 1950s, the baiji population
was estimated as 6,000 individuals.

By 1997, fewer than 50 remained.

By the time
a conservation plan was approved

by the Chinese government in 2001,
it was already too late.

The baiji was the first documented
extinction of a large marine mammal

in over 50 years.

If humans had acted sooner,
a cetacean breeding programme,

aided by the work of scientists
at leading aquariums,

may have saved the baiji.

Some protesters
have successfully pressured

tourism providers and governments

to cut ties
with zoological facilities

that breed cetaceans.

There are so many ways

that knowledge we gain of animals
in human care at zoos and aquariums

contribute to their preservation
in the wild -

it's impossible, really almost
impossible, to list or itemise that.

We know so much from learning how
to care for animals in human care

that translates to understanding
those animals in wild habitats.

To breeding experts,
this move was contradictory.

Observation and study
in controlled habitats

is crucial to saving cetaceans
in the wild.

Why create new obstacles
to protect cetaceans

when so many
are in dire need of help?

The Chinese white dolphin is beloved
by the people of Hong Kong

for their friendly disposition
and unique pink colour.

HORN BLARES
Pollution and boat traffic

have reduced their numbers
to critical levels

in Hong Kong's Pearl River Estuary.

This time,
the government has stepped in

and created new marine reserves
to safeguard the dolphin.

There is still hope
for the Chinese white dolphin,

but threats to cetaceans
and all marine life

continue to multiply.

Boat traffic, shipping traffic,
not just hitting whales and dolphins

with their propellers
and killing them,

but the noise they make
interfering with their ability

to find the food
that really isn't there any more.

HORN BLARES

Noise pollution
from commercial shipping,

oil and gas drilling
and military sonar

is another danger
to marine habitats.

Whales and dolphins rely on sound
to communicate and hunt.

Environmental noise greatly reduces
their range of hearing.

But there's another threat to ocean
life that's harder to measure.

There's a lot of disinformation.

There's misinformation and there's
deliberate misinformation.

Shark attack numbers
reach an all-time high.

They're attacking humans
more than ever before.

Millions of sharks are killed
a year.

We shouldn't be afraid of them.

We should find the right place
and the right way

to take care of them
and let them live.

It's just devastating to think

that we don't take care
of the animals that we're afraid of.

Sharks are universally feared.

Bees, ants, dogs, horses
and jellyfish

each kill more humans every year
than sharks do.

Fear persists in spite of the facts.

As a result, sharks are more
vulnerable than ever.

Humans have proven to be much more
lethal for sharks than vice versa.

Shark finning presents the most
immediate threat to sharks today.

Shark fins are typically removed
while the shark is still alive...

..to be used in soup
or traditional Chinese medicine.

The finless shark is then discarded
to slowly suffer a barbaric death.

The loss of sharks
has dire consequences

on the ocean's ecosystem.

Much like the wolves of Yellowstone,
sharks are a keystone species

affecting every part of the ocean
around them.

The sharks' plight does not generate

the same level of empathy
as other animals,

despite their ecological importance.

Most of us will never see
a wild shark in our lifetime.

And yet we are instinctively afraid.

Decades of misinformation

have defined
the human-shark relationship.

Depictions of hunting sharks

are typically presented with a dark,
ominous tone.

DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS

FLIPPER THEME PLAYS

Shots of hunting dolphins
tend to be playful and upbeat,

yet both species are top predators.

# They call him Flipper, Flipper

# Faster than lightning... #

It's movies like Jaws that have
scared a generation of people,

especially younger children,
about the shark

and how ugly and dangerous and...
you know, it's a menace.

JAWS THEME PLAYS

When our decisions about animals

become driven
by a cauldron of emotion,

we oftentimes do more damage
than good.

I'm Krysten Ritter for PETA.

We're doing a campaign
to raise awareness

about orcas being trapped
in captivity.

Words have power.

These words like "captivity" -
they force us to think

that there's something evil
happening here, when there's not.

So we don't tell people that,

"I have a golden retriever
in captivity,"

because we don't think about it
that way.

We think about it
from a language of love.

A big misconception is that
animals in zoos aren't loved.

In all the zoo environments
I've worked over my career,

I cannot think of an environment
that is more loving,

that is a better example of
human-animal bond and relationship

than the zoos and aquariums
that I've worked at.

We know the difference
between happy vocal

or when something's happening.

We don't just train behaviours.

We rub them down.

They love being rubbed down.
We play with them.

We can tell these animals are happy.

Anti-zoo disinformation revolves
around inflammatory language

and factually questionable claims.

Phrases like "animal prison"
or "slavery"

imply that animals
in zoos and aquariums are abused

or otherwise mistreated.

Protesters have especially focused
on cetaceans,

claiming they can simply be removed
from human care

and deposited into wild habitats.

Empty The Tanks, for so many
animals, is a death sentence.

We're talking about killing animals
that were raised in human care.

Keiko,
the orca whale known to millions

as the star of the Free Willy
movies, is dead.

He was released before
he was really able

to capture his own food.

His name is Keiko.

But millions know him as the star
of the hit movie Free Willy.

It was a grand experiment,

the release
of a captive killer whale,

taken home to Iceland
after so many years in an aquarium.

The greatest adventure
of the summer.

MARK SIMMONS:
The Keiko Project started

after the movie Free Willy came out.

So a lot of public opinion
and, of course, organisations

that had the idea
that they wanted to show the world

that a whale under human care
could be released.

The success of Free Willy in 1993
made Keiko into a global icon.

Activists launched a campaign
to return him to the wild.

The movement was soon incorporated
into the marketing

for the Free Willy sequel.

You can order the Keiko adoption kit
and become part of Keiko's family.

There stickers
and even a Free Willy poster.

There's also an amulet
to keep you connected with Keiko.

Generally,
the idea that the group had

was that once Keiko
was in native waters,

he would remember
what he needed to survive

and swim off into the sunset.
That didn't happen.

In a way, they somewhat panicked
and brought in people

that had worked with killer whales,
myself included.

We started systematically working on
a rehabilitation programme.

Reintroduction is not easy.

Reintroduction
is a very complex process.

It's not just releasing animals
back to the wild.

Keiko was not a good candidate
for release,

by many different measures.
First of all,

he'd been with his human foster
family for his entire adult life.

He was never in the wild long enough
to acquire survival skills.

Most North Atlantic killer whales

use complex behaviours
to herd and stun their prey -

things about which
Keiko doesn't have a clue.

Part of their survival

is based on the highly social animal
that they are.

Dolphins and whales,
once they've learned

where their food comes from

and learned to live with people
who provide care for them,

they don't generally go back
and operate on instinct.

We've seen in a very short timespan

that a dolphin that knows
it's being fed by a person -

once it learns that,
it never forgets it.

It would be like you raise a puppy
from its earliest days at your house

and then you take it out
into the woods

and you let it go and you say,

"There you go -
go fend for yourself."

From Keiko's perspective,

he was simply being deprived
of everything he'd ever known.

He's gonna seek out
that which is familiar

and not only familiar,
but that which is positive.

And that's his relationship
with humans.

He was never documented
as eating live fish, ever. Not once.

There was never any evidence,
any sighting of it.

We had tried many different ways.

Keiko suffered a very long,
drawn-out death.

The ideology that human relationship
with animals is criminal somehow

is what killed Keiko,
unnecessarily and horribly.

Keiko was murdered.

Reintroduction is important.

This is an important part of
wildlife and zoological management.

It would be wonderful
if we could release

every animal back into the wild.

This is something that I guess
activists would like us to do -

open our cages
and let animals run free.

It takes quite a bit of effort
to retrain them

to actually survive in the wild.

We have to be very careful.

There's very good guidelines -
they are put together

by the International Union
for Conservation of Nature -

which we all follow,
and if all the boxes are ticked,

then of course we will
release them back into the wild.

It has never been done
with killer whales.

If it ever is done successfully,

it will be done by those
who understand what it requires.

Like our top zoological parks.

Right now, we maintain more than 350
species and subspecies of parrots.

Blue is the last male of his kind.
I have a kind?

Sometimes people think that it's
just easy to release the animals,

so why we just release them
straight away?

But first, we must understand
the threats

that make that species threatened.

We have to restore the habitat
and the conditions

before releasing the animals.

RAFAEL:

Reforestation
is also a powerful tool

to fight climate change.

Trees absorb greenhouse gases
from the atmosphere,

offsetting emissions
from human sources

like transportation and industry.

The abundance of vegetation
is essential

for animals like parrots
that depend on a robust forest.

Loro Parque has saved ten species
of parrots from extinction.

On the other side of the world,

a very different creature
is benefiting

from radical human-led
breeding innovations.

The kakapo.

The only flightless parrot
in the world,

the kakapo were once widespread
in their native New Zealand.

Like the dodo centuries ago,
the kakapo's inability to fly

left it vulnerable
to invasive species.

By the 1970s, their numbers
were estimated at fewer than 50.

A huge and growing pressure
to wildlife

is the moving of species
around the world.

The real problem
with invasive species today

is that when they get
into environments

where the animals or the plants,

they have no history of having
to deal with those kind of animals,

they are often very vulnerable
and they will be predated on,

they will be outcompeted.

And that's all due to us
moving our materials around

or whatever it is.

So, when these species
are moving around,

they can just destroy
those natural systems.

Responding to that kind of problem
in these collaborative efforts,

all kinds of different skills,

sometimes it often needs
a rescue role,

that the things like a zoo
can provide.

Repopulating the kakapo is complex.

They only breed
every two to four years.

When they do mate, less than half
of the eggs are fertile,

most likely due to inbreeding.

To maximise the number
of viable eggs,

scientists embraced
a 21st century tool,

3D-printed eggs.

Flightless birds
built their nests on the ground,

leaving their eggs vulnerable
to predators.

To prevent them from becoming prey
before they can even hatch,

fertile kakapo eggs
are removed from their nests

to be incubated
under human supervision.

The mother is then given
3D-printed smart eggs

that move and make noise,
just like real eggs.

This allows
for her maternal instincts

to remain undisturbed
throughout the process.

After the real chicks
hatch in protected care,

they are returned
to their mother's nest.

DR BYERS: Without question,

we're experiencing
a planetary crisis.

1 million of the 8 million
species on the planet

are threatened with extinction.

Pangolins are shy,
solitary and nocturnal.

Much about them is still unknown.

In Asia, pangolins are an object
of fascination,

even inspiring popular fashions.

Follow the story,
if you would, of the rhino horn

and some of these iconic species.

This little animal is very much used
for medicinal purposes

in the traditional
Chinese and Asian markets.

The scales that are used
in that process,

they are made of keratin,
just like your fingernail is.

They're not going to cure insomnia
or insanity

and things
that they make claims for.

Pangolins remain the most
heavily-traded animal in the world.

And if we don't do something
about this right now,

this species will go extinct
on our watch.

Zoos, conservationists
and media campaigns,

like this one,
featuring Jackie Chan,

have been raising awareness
of the pangolin-poaching epidemic.

Up to now, pangolin only defence
from poachers

was to roll up into a ball.

But now all species
are protected by law.

The pangolin is not alone.

The illegal wildlife trade
has become an international crisis,

driving a wide range of species
toward extinction.

Illegal wildlife trade is more
lucrative than dealing drugs.

Because the crime is not treated
as high as, like, drug dealing,

the level of prosecution is low.

And I think it's one of the biggest
threat to the extinction crisis.

We are now really facing a crisis
of empty and silent forests.

It's like vacuum cleaning
the forest.

The illegal wildlife trade
threatens humans as well.

Many scientists suspect SARS
and other coronaviruses

have roots in exotic meat markets
in Asia.

All wildlife trade is now banned
across China.

The coronavirus was traced
to a seafood market in Wuhan

that was illegally selling wildlife.

Governments are stepping up.

They confiscate animals,
which is a good thing.

But then you have all these
large numbers of animals

and often zoos provide the platform
for these animals

to actually get a new home...

..or get at least taken care of
until other solutions are found,

such as either releasing them
back to the wild

or sending them to other good
facilities for permanent care.

So, one of our roles
in Singapore Zoo

is actually to take care
of confiscated wildlife.

So whenever there's
large confiscations,

all the animals will be
brought to the zoo

and we take care
and rehabilitate them.

In a world without zoos,

it's unclear who would have
the resources and expertise

to care for the thousands of animals
rescued from traffickers every year.

For many species, it is almost
too late out there in the wild

because of threats
like illegal trade.

So if we do not bring them
under our care

and we don't establish
assurance colonies,

they may not have a chance.

These are Pere David deer.

Today, there are 700
of these animals worldwide.

This herd produces offspring yearly.

And one day, these deer
may once again live in the wild.

This film about the Pere David's
deer was made in 1979...

..in a zoo-run wildlife refuge
in Virginia.

The full story
of the Pere David's deer

and the assurance colonies
that saved them

goes back
to the turn of the century.

The deer were driven
to extinction in China,

when war and famine left them
as one of the few food sources

for starving peasants.

Before their disappearance,
18 deer had been relocated

to private menageries
throughout Europe.

Over the next few generations,

those 18 grew into a population
of over 5,000.

Their extinction was reversed

by a well-managed
reintroduction process.

Pere David's deer
now thrive in China

and around the world.

Assurance populations
are a fundamental principle

of modern conservation.

If those 18 deer
had never left China,

the entire species
would now be extinct.

The whooping crane
was once widespread

throughout North America.

By 1938, overhunting
and habitat loss

had reduced their numbers
to two separate groups.

The first flock consisted
of just 18 migratory cranes.

Each winter,
these birds flew over 2,500 miles

from Canada to Texas.

The second flock consisted
of 11 known migratory cranes

in Louisiana.

A hurricane in 1940
decimated the Louisiana flock.

Only one bird was recovered.

This is Josephine...

..the sole survivor
of the Louisiana flock.

Josephine was brought to
the Audubon Park Zoo in New Orleans.

Two birds from the Texas flock
were brought in to breed with her.

Over the next few decades,
baby cranes were hatched

at several sites
around the continent,

including the San Antonio Zoo.

The whooping crane
was gradually re-introduced

back into the wild.

In conservation, there's a reason
why you want to do that,

is to make sure that something
that happens in one year -

some catastrophic disease,
could hit, for example.

If there are three
different locations,

then it's an insurance policy
against these catastrophic events.

PAUL PEARCE-KELLY: Sometimes,
your only hope for those species

is to provide
conservation breeding assistance

in the hope that we can collectively
get our act together,

get the environment
into a better state,

and that there may still be
some place in nature

for these species to go.

But it's a real profound challenge.

When you have catastrophic events,
like a giant Exxon boat

that crashes into a reef
and spills tons and tons of oil,

the only people then that can go
into that particular scene

and save those animals
are very innovative

and very educated individuals who
know how to handle those animals,

how to get the oil off, how to take
care of them, how to nurture them,

how to get them back on the track
and how to let them go again.

These are people
that come from zoos and aquariums

because they have
the knowledge and the background.

Now, you may not know it,
but tucked behind

SeaWorld's Penguin Encounter
is a facility

that cares for oiled animals.

It takes two or three people
about an hour to clean them.

We're increasingly familiar
with not just small oil spills

that happen
with a high degree of regularity,

but these big catastrophic
oil spills

that have happened over
the last 20 years.

SeaWorld has been really proud
to be involved

in what's called
the Oiled Wildlife Care Network,

which is a community
of specialists -

veterinarians, animal caretakers,
zoos, aquariums, universities -

all working together to respond
to these oil spill disasters,

to treat each individual animal
that can be saved,

clean it up, feed it up,
get it stable,

and then release it back
out into the wild.

The work that we do within our parks
is only possible

because people can come to our parks

and meet the extraordinary animals
that we care for.

Because they do that,

we earn the resources to direct
towards field conservation,

to fund the rescue
and rehabilitation work that we do.

SeaWorld will get a call

from the general public
or from the government, saying,

"We need your help.
There's an animal in distress."

Without question,
this team of people,

doesn't matter what they're doing,
it can be Christmas Day or Sunday,

they get up, they gear up, they go.

When a hurricane
was bearing down on the Keys,

animals came to SeaWorld
for sanctuary.

Obviously, in the wild,
the animals that are injured

or they cannot find enough food,
they are suffering.

Especially well known is the case
of Morgan, our killer whale.

Morgan was first spotted
by the Dutch coastguard

in a shallow part of the Wadden Sea.

Orcas had not been seen there
for decades.

Morgan was only a calf,

but had somehow
become separated from her pod.

She was extremely malnourished.

Scientists soon discovered that
Morgan was almost completely deaf.

This was likely
how she came to be separated

from her mother and her family.

Morgan's original pod
was never found.

So, the options for Morgan
was euthanize

or being here with a special group
of killer whales.

We were selected
by the Dutch government

because at that moment,
that was the most modern facility.

We have the deepest tank
in the world.

We have wonderful water quality.

Always when you introduce
a new animal into a group,

there's going to be some fights.

She was fully integrated
with the group

and now she's one more of them.

Morgan's health
improved dramatically.

She mated and gave birth
to a healthy calf.

Morgan was a wonderful mother.
She was taking care of her,

protecting her.
We have to provide extra milk.

And that means you have to
bottle-feed from the very beginning.

So we were working 24 hours a day
to take care of the calf.

Some protesters continued
to demand Morgan's release.

Morgan's deafness
makes it impossible.

Independent orca experts
ultimately determined

that the only way for her
to lead a safe and healthy life

was in human care.

When a severe drought
hit south-eastern Africa,

it threatened the food and water
supply for millions of people.

Thousands of wild animals also died.

Two renowned wildlife reserves
were hit especially hard.

The elephant populations
were swelling

beyond the park's
already-strained resources.

With little water and vegetation,

the parks were prepared
to cull the herds.

And they're losing literally
hundreds of thousands of animals

during this drought.

Three American zoos offered to help.

There are five new African elephants
at the Dallas Zoo,

but this morning's arrival has
some animal rights activists upset.

Protesters attempted
to block the transfer of the animals

through a series of lawsuits.

Ultimately, a federal judge ruled

that the elephants should
be moved to the US.

Natural habitats for elephants
are becoming increasingly hostile.

As human populations expand,
elephant habitats are shrinking.

The lack of living space
is causing them to wander

into cities, villages and farmland,

creating danger
for both elephants and humans.

So, we're working
with Asian elephants in the field.

And one of the biggest problems
is conflict with local communities.

ELEPHANT ROARS

So we're trying to work in ways

that enable people to live
alongside elephants safely.

And one of the ways
they can deter elephants

is by actually putting chillies
along a fence,

because elephants
actually don't like chillies

and it can stop elephants
moving into an area of cropland.

Zoos continue
to play a crucial role,

helping to manage
the sometimes-uneasy relationships

between humans and wildlife.

Zoos are the only place of refuge
for orphaned cubs like Kali.

Kali was found starving
by the body of his dead mother.

The US Fish and Wildlife
Service stepped in

and determined
that an accredited zoo

could best serve
Kali's long-term needs.

Now a healthy adult
weighing over 1,000lb,

Kali is a living example
of modern zoo's role

as a refuge from certain death.

Polar bears are uniquely adapted
to Arctic life.

They can survive some of
the harshest conditions on Earth.

But they cannot survive
the disintegration of the polar ice.

The ice is their lifeline,

allowing them to hunt
far from shore.

Climate change and food scarcity

have driven polar bears
away from their wild habitats

and into populated areas.

This often ends catastrophically
for the bears.

GUNSHOT

Hundreds are killed by humans
each year.

Many of their cubs are found
orphaned and alone.

As climate change transforms
some habitats

and erases others entirely,

certified and accredited zoos

can protect vulnerable animals
right now.

From the remote Alaskan tundra

to the largest cities
in the world...

..the urban sprawl of Los Angeles

is home to dozens
of free-roaming mountain lions,

also called cougars,
pumas or panthers.

Cougar habitats in Los Angeles
are highly fragmented

by the highways
that span the region.

Many cougars struggle to cross,
in search of mates or food.

Where you end up
with isolated areas of forest,

the animals that live there
become very isolated.

The populations decline.

Regional zoos have supported
recent efforts

to equip each cougar
with GPS-enabled radio collars.

Radio tracking of endangered animals

is a staple of modern
conservation science.

DR ROCHA: We use tracking to
understand their movements,

their diets,
their ecological needs.

We can understand
their mortality's cause.

If it's roadkill,
if it's poisoning...

The collars allow us to know what
is happening with these animals.

This type of structure
is known as a habitat corridor.

A habitat corridor
is an area of habitat

that joins two bigger areas up

to allow animal populations
to move between those areas.

They actually need to join up
with other groups of animals

in other patches of forest.

So if you link those together

with areas of forest along a strip,
then that can allow

those populations of animals
to join together.

Zoos and their local partners

are proactively working together
to connect different habitats.

DR LEUS: A lot of zoos actually have
a lot of people that are employed,

that you might even rarely see,

that are very busy with conservation
elsewhere.

I'm only at the zoo
about four times a year,

so they really employ me
so that they can be more effective

in contributing
to conservation worldwide.

Conservation partnerships

help zoos share their expertise
across the globe.

Woodland Park Zoo
has created a programme to help

the endangered tree kangaroo
of Papua New Guinea.

They've partnered
with local communities

to build a new wildlife preserve,

marking the country's first
protected natural area.

But they didn't stop there.

The zoo ensured a benefit

to the people of Papua New Guinea
as well.

Local coffee farmers agreed
to include their land

within the boundaries
of the new nature preserve.

The zoo-led programme
connected them with vendors

to buy and distribute their coffee
internationally.

Those stories, they're not
the big sensational stories.

Conservation happens
in little bits and pieces.

And our job
as applied conservation specialists

is to make sure that we're
contributing in lots of small ways,

while at the same time
telling those stories

and then doing everything we can
to contribute in really large ways.

Orangutan habitats
in South East Asia are under siege.

Rainforests are being ravaged

to clear space
for palm oil cultivation.

Rainforest has been cut down
in many parts of the world

to create palm oil plantations.

Palm oil is in about 50%
of what you buy in a supermarket.

But the problem is the destruction
of the rainforest

is leading to the loss
of many, many species,

including things like
the beautiful orangutan.

Deforestation threatens a wide range
of wildlife unique to the region.

Scientists estimate
that a clear-cut rainforest

could take up to 1,000 years
to fully regrow.

We don't advocate a boycott
of palm oil.

We ask people to look
for sustainable palm oil

in the products that they buy.
Sustainable palm oil is grown

in areas where rainforest
hasn't been cut down recently

and this is much better for wildlife

and doesn't lead
to so much biodiversity loss.

We've gone through our entire
supply chain at Chester Zoo

and everything that you buy
in the shops

contains sustainable palm oil
if it has palm oil at all.

Zoos' ability
to draw public attention

to environmental issues
like palm oil deforestation

is another fundamental pillar
of their modern mission.

Their ability to connect
with the public

is similar to our favourite
nature documentaries.

Both can be powerful tools
to raise awareness

and create momentum
for positive change.

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: The ocean.

The largest habitat on Earth.

But some nature programmes
face criticism for presenting

an idealised version of nature,

while avoiding images
of the numerous ways

humans have devastated
the environment.

Almost all of the plastic
ever produced is still on Earth.

Repairing the damage
we've done to the environment

requires more than
abstract inspiration.

It also needs tangible
and unsettling reminders

of what that damage
really looks like

and how we can begin to reverse it.

Many aquariums
are taking up that cause,

with entire exhibits now dedicated
to the massive amount

of plastic pollution
suffocating our oceans.

A visit to the aquarium
can no longer be limited

to marvelling at the beauty
of underwater life.

We must also confront the ugliness

we inflict on the world's
largest ecosystem,

the source of the very air
we breathe.

Zoological facilities

have successfully combined
environmental advocacy

with hands-on conservation work
for over a century.

The only reason certain
species are alive today

is because zoos and aquariums
have saved them from extinction.

The mass slaughter of American bison

accelerated
after the end of the Civil War

and completion of
the Transcontinental Railroad.

Bison herds once covered the entire
North American continent...

..from Alaska in the north
to Mexico in the south.

This map
showing their historical range

was made by the man
whose efforts led to the creation

of the National Zoo
and the Bronx Zoo...

Hornaday was a taxidermist
and a naturalist

for the Smithsonian Institution.

In 1886, he travelled west
to collect bison specimens

for display at the National Museum.

He was disturbed by what he found.

The bison were nearly extinct.

The numbers were staggering.

From some 30 million,

he now estimated
1,000 bison remaining

across the continent.

The Smithsonian acquired
a single breeding pair of bison.

The public was fascinated

and soon, awareness was growing
over the bison's fate.

A few years later,
Hornaday had moved to New York City

to establish
the New York Zoological Garden,

better known as the Bronx Zoo.

Hornaday had been breeding bison.

In 1905, a new nature preserve
was created in Oklahoma.

He offered to move 15 bison

to the new preserve
for a reintroduction programme,

an experiment unheard of
at the time.

His work was successful.

By 1919, nine herds
had been established in the wild

from zoo-breeding efforts.

Bison numbers began to rise
once again.

Today, around 500,000 bison
populate North America.

Many of them descended
from those two original herds.

Bison now inhabit the American West
once again,

almost entirely due to the foresight
and dedication

of one conservationist.

We knew how to save species
from extinction over 100 years ago.

Thanks to the work of zoos
and their specialists,

we know even more today.

The story of the bison
and their escape from extinction

marked a major turning point
in the mission of the modern zoo.

INDISTINCT RADIO MESSAGES

The next shift occurred

with the rise of the modern
environmental movement.

We poison the gnats in a lake

and the poison travels
from link to link of the food chain

and soon the birds of
the lake margins become its victims.

There appears to be growing concern
among scientists

at the possibility
of dangerous long-range side effects

from the widespread use of DDT
and other pesticides.

Have you considered asking
the Department of Agriculture

or the Public Health Service
to take a closer look at this?

Yes, and I know that
they already are.

I think particularly, of course,
since Miss Carson's book,

but they are examining the matter.

In the 1960s,
ecological catastrophes

like the Santa Barbara oil spill

led to unprecedented public
and government support

for environmental protections.

Plastics don't rust. They don't rot.

Buried, they remain in their
original state almost indefinitely.

Burned, they pollute our air.

A major philosophical shift
occurred over just a few years.

Humans were uniquely responsible
for damaging the natural world

and uniquely equipped to protect it.

More zoos turned their primary focus
to species conservation,

rescue breeding
and environmental awareness...

..building on William Hornaday's
ideas from the turn of the century.

There is an extinction event
going on.

A lot of people don't know about it.

We've been tracking it
since the 1970s.

The role of zoos
has evolved over time.

In the early days, we kept animals
mostly as curiosities.

But then we started to recognise

that many of the species
we had in zoos would disappear.

And that really changed
the focus of zoos.

So we needed to start paying
attention to genetic lineages,

animal welfare,
to their social behaviour,

to make sure that populations
would persist into the future.

Can't protect what you don't love,
you can't love what you don't know.

I fell in love with animals
at zoos and aquariums.

The best part of my job
is, every single day,

watching those kids
come through that front gate,

just so excited to see our animals.

When a child goes in
and sees an elephant,

that child's life is transformed.

That child will begin to advocate
for animals.

I've went to zoos a lot as a child,
because it gave me an opportunity

to see species that I never
would have seen anywhere else.

It's very difficult
to see animals in close up.

This kind of quality from zoos
helps the public.

Especially now,
so much more urbanised.

I was inspired by what zoos
were doing for conservation

and particularly trying to protect

some of the planet's
most threatened species.

And it's that exposure that gives us
the care and the concern

when we hear about
their plights in the wild.

I think zoos really do play
that educational role

of really teaching kids

that it's not just about
the warm, fluffy things -

it's also about the range of animals
that exist.

And all of those animals
need saving.

It's not just about looking
at a penguin behind a pane of glass.

It's about being
in the penguin's 32-degree world.

Zoos and aquariums have changed.

If we didn't have zoos, we'd have to
invent them in very short order

to respond to the biodiversity
crisis that we're currently facing.

If you want to fight the war
against extinction,

visit a good zoo and aquarium.

Help them to fund conservation
projects around the globe.

We're focused on one of the greatest
threats to our planet

that any of us will see
in our lifetimes,

and that's the loss of biodiversity
around the world.

Join us, because it's going to take
everybody to solve that problem.

Any time you have the opportunity
to come to a great zoo,

you learn about life.

You're enchanted with it.
You have empathy for it.

You suddenly want
to do something about it.

And I think that
up-close and personal experience

makes the heart and the mind
stick together.

MUSIC: 'Sing Out'
by Lisa Loeb

# I was trying too hard to fit in

# Make me feel like I belong

# To something

# But it hurt in my heart

# Hiding a part

# Of who I am

# I was wasting my days

# Down on myself

# Down on my life

# And everyone else

# I thought, "They won't understand"

# But it wasn't about them

# It's my parade

# I'll make it great

# Blow my horn

# Throw confetti, celebrate

# You can march, you can dance

# Every moment is your chance

# To be yourself

# And sing out

# There's a story inside me to tell

# Took some time to get the water

# From the well

# Thought I'd waited too long

# Thought I'd say something wrong

# That they won't understand

# But my life is in my hands

# It's my parade

# I'll make it great

# Blow my horn, throw confetti
Celebrate

# You can march, you can dance

# Every moment is your chance

# To be yourself

# And sing out

# La, la-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la

# La, la-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la

# It's my parade

# I'll make it great

# Blow my horn, throw confetti
Celebrate

# You can march, you can dance

# Every moment is your chance

# To be yourself

# And sing out

# And sing ou-ou-out

# And sing ou-ou-out

# La, la-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la

# La, la-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la

# La, la-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la

# La, la-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la

# La, la-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la

# La, la-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la, la-la-la

# La-la-la

# La, la-la-la... #

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