Name: Defenders of the Wild | Elephants: Land of Tusks
Uploaded: 2023-12-21
Duration: 23 min 2 s
Description: Ivan Carter and his team work to translocate 100 elephants from overpopulated areas facing degradation. The goal of the ambitious project? To repopulate some of Africa's most depleted national parks.

Join conservationist Ivan Carter as he explores the planet and seeks solutions to create a balanced wildlife ecosystem.

Ivan Carter and his team work to translocate 100 elephants from overpopulated areas facing degradation. The goal of the ambitious project? To repopulate some of Africa's most depleted national parks.

Elephants: Land of Tusks

Dr. Dave Gaynor introduces lions and cheetahs into the Zambeze Delta to look at the role apex predators play in the ecosystem, and how prey adapts in terms of behavior and numbers.

The Once and Future Kings

Ivan Carter heads to the United States to investigate how hunters' dollars fund sheep conservation across the country. Follow along through a hands-on translocation that will re-establish a historic home range for the species.

Bighorn Sheep: Banging Heads!

After poaching devastated native populations in the Zambezi Delta, wildlife is returning–thanks to upliftment initiatives, community meat drops and anti-poaching. Mark Haldane shares what it takes to restore an ecosystem.

Delta Defenders: Poachers Beware!

Once upon a time, there were millions of bison; now, there are less than 1,000. Ivan dives into the history of bison populations in the U.S., as well as the current state of their protection, and gets involved in collaring efforts in the Henry Mountains.

Bison, Not Buffalo

The giraffe is an African icon facing a silent extinction. Ivan travels to Niger, West Africa, where the Giraffe Conservation Foundation is taking action across the continent to reverse this trend.

Giraffes: Giants Never Sleep

Conservation efforts often focus on big, charismatic species, but without biodiversity, a landscape cannot truly thrive. Texas quail populations–a crucial indicator species–are the "canary in the coal mine" for ecosystem health.

Quail: The Health of the Land

The Central African forests are home to chimpanzees, but human impact is threatening their populations. The Lwiro Sanctuary rescues and rehabilitates orphaned chimpanzees from the bushmeat and pet trade in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Lwiro Primates: Sanctuary

African rhinos are highly threatened, due to demand for their horns in Asia. Ivan heads to the frontlines, where poaching occurs weekly, to find what conservation measures must be used to protect the population.

Rhinos: A Healthy Landscape

Human-wildlife conflict is an issue throughout Africa. In an attempt to mitigate this, Ivan joins Roger Whittall to collar bull elephants in an effort to create an early warning system for the surrounding communities.

Elephants & Humans Sharing Spaces

Research has informed biologists about how to protect bear species, but gathering this data requires collaring them. Biologists must crawl into their dens during hibernation and dart them.

The Bear Necessities

Since some African countries allow for private ownership of wildlife, this generated an industry of trade that hoped to rejuvenate the fauna of the land. Join the team as they use unique high-stakes methods to capture various species.

Game Capture: Snares & Tactics

White-tailed deer are synonymous with America, yet conservationists go to great lengths to manage the populations. Ivan joins the team in South Dakota as they capture and collar whitetail deer to study their survival rates.