Complete Transcript

Narration:

Transcript:

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Movement is essential for life

on earth, yet the impact of

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global change on the movement of

species is poorly understood.

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Combining fieldwork,

coordination with local

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partners, and satellite

observations, institutions like

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the Smithsonian and NASA help us

understand and protect

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biodiverse ecosystems.

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The Smithsonian and NASA are

working to fill in the gaps in

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our understanding, like, how

much space do animals need to

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survive?

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How does human civilization

create barriers for animals?

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And what role can technology

play in monitoring the survival

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of wildlife?

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Once plentiful across most of

North Africa, Scimitar-horned

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Oryx became extinct in the wild

due to widespread overhunting,

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habitat loss, and persistent

drought.

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Working with partners, the

Smithsonian embarked on a bold

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program to not only reintroduce

the animals to part of their

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original range in Chad, but to

also use tracking technology to

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ensure their survival.

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I pursued a career in

conservation to save species

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from extinction. The down

listing of the Scimitar-horned

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Oryx is the kind of conservation

progress that I have been

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training and working for my

entire career.

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Scientists are now monitoring

the progress of nearly every

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Oryx via GPS tracking callers,

combining that data with

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satellite imagery, scientists

are obtaining unprecedented

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insights into the species like

the social and environmental

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drivers of Oryx movements and

survival.

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We analyzed their behavior and

found that they changed

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dramatically between rainy pool

and hot seasons, and we applied

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that information to identify

conservation zones in the

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reserve where they're being

reintroduced, to make sure that

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the areas they use and the

resources they need are

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available all year round.

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With more than 600

Scimitar-horned Oryx now in

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Chad, the species was

reclassified from extinct in the

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wild to endangered, marking a

major milestone for the species.

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Chimpanzees are another species

technology is working for. In

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the last 50 years, their

populations have been decimated,

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and all that time, Earth

observing satellites like

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Landsat have been observing the

shrinking of their home,

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Africa's equatorial forest belt.

The Jane Goodall Institute uses

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NASA satellite data and images

in their Tacare program, which

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supports local communities in

implementing their own

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conservation plans, which have

helped restore vital chimpanzee

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habitat.

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Tacare gives me hope.

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The way it gives me hope is it

is changing lives,

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and it is also empowering the

local voices.

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With support from NASA, the Jane

Goodall Institute has used

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dozens of variables from Landsat

data to create a suitable

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habitat map for chimpanzees.

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Mobile Apps also bring in data

in real time to aid communities

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in land use planning and

protection of their village

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forest reserves. After years of

forest loss, satellite data has

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helped support habitat recovery.

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It works both ways. Sometimes

you show a lush forest and then

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you show how a few years later,

it's devastated. There's just a

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few burnt stumps. But on the

other hand, there are other

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images which show you a

devastated landscape, and then

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five years later, trees coming

back, regeneration, new hope,

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new life. That's what these

satellite images show so

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clearly.

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Biodiverse ecosystems need

protection, and with continued

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satellite observations and

efforts like the oryx

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reintroduction program, NASA and

the Smithsonian will continue to

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do just that.