As part of the WCN Network, you are no stranger to the tremendous support of our community. You know just how important it is to reach out and lift each other up. So while you, your family, and your friends are staying at home to keep yourselves and your community safe during the current coronavirus pandemic, we at WCN want to shine some light into your day by sharing some wonderful resources that will keep you engaged with wildlife.
BRING THE WORLD OF WILDLIFE INTO YOUR HOME
Past Wildlife Conservation Expos
If you’ve never attended one of our Wildlife Conservation Expos in person, or if you just want to relive some of the stories from conservationists working to save wildlife around the world, you can view six years of recorded Expo presentations on our website. We’ll also be hosting our first-ever Virtual Spring Expo on April 25, with more details to come shortly.
NatGeo for Kids
National Geographic has a number of online resources to teach your kids about wildlife and keep them engaged while they’re home from school. Bite-sized videos about amazing animals can be found on their website, and our own Partner, Global Penguin Society (GPS), joined with NatGeo to produce a short video about their work protecting penguins and their habitat in Patagonia.
Disneynature’s Penguins
If you’re eager to learn more about penguins after watching the video above, consider watching Disneynature Penguins, which you can find on Amazon Prime and YouTube. This heartfelt documentary follows Steve, an intrepid little penguin on a journey to find his true love and start a family while dodging predators in extreme Antarctic environments. A portion of the film’s proceeds supported GPS through WCN to help Steve’s family, so it comes highly recommended!
The Elephant Queen
Last year, Apple TV+ released a remarkable documentary, The Elephant Queen, which follows a family of elephants led by their matriarch, Athena, across the vibrant plains of Africa. It’s a grand adventure perfect for family viewing and learning more about the mighty elephant, which WCN Partner Save the Elephants (STE) and the Elephant Crisis Fund work tirelessly to protect.
BBC Earth Dynasties
Dynasties is a BBC Earth documentary series that chronicles the struggles of five families from five incredible species – lions, penguins, chimpanzees, tigers, and painted dogs – as they fight to survive in the wild. The painted dogs filmed in this docuseries are the same pack that our Partner, Painted Dog Conservation, monitors and protects in Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe. You can watch this series on Amazon Prime and Vudu.
TED Talks
If you’ve already watched our past Expo presentations, check out all of the wildlife-centric TED Talks to hear directly from more conservationists. Some notable videos include Dr. Lucy King from STE talking about saving elephants with help from bees, Moreangels Mbizah describing how local communities can take part in lion conservation, and Patrícia Medici’s presentation on protecting tapirs in South America. Other great videos illustrate how vultures clean ecosystems, why saving fishing cats and their mangrove forests is so important, conservation efforts in Africa’s Okavango Delta, and the complex matriarchy of killer whales. There’s an entire library of recorded wildlife presentations available on the TED Talks website just waiting to be explored.
Baxu and the Giants
This short film sheds light on rhino poaching in Namibia through the eyes of a young girl, and demonstrates how impoverished rural communities can turn to wildlife crime in desperate times. It’s a touching story that shows how people and wildlife are connected and encourages coexistence through social reform. You can watch Baxu and the Giants for free online.
Other Wildlife Documentaries
Popular streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+ also feature a number of fantastic nature series just a click away. Search for these breathtaking wildlife documentaries on their respective streaming services:
Netflix
- Night on Earth
- Our Planet
- Disneynature Oceans
- Wild Alaska
- Monkey Planet
- The World’s Most Wanted Animal
Disney+
- Into the Okavango
- Hostile Planet
- Wild Russia
- Disneynature Chimpanzee
- Disneynature Bears
- Kingdom of the White Wolf
- Great Migrations
- Wild Yellowstone
- Man Among Cheetahs
The vast world of wildlife is still within reach as we stay at home and ride out today’s trials, reminding us that we can all still connect and marvel at nature’s splendor together. These streaming options will keep you and your loved ones entertained and hopefully entice you to seek out more documentaries just like them.
STAY UPDATED AND ENGAGED WITH WCN’S PARTNERS AND FUNDS
Follow WCN’s social media accounts to keep informed about what our Partners and Crisis and Recovery Fund grantees are doing to continue saving wildlife during this global crisis. You can find links to all of WCN’s platforms here.
SUPPORT CONSERVATION
Endangered wildlife still need us, and you can take action to help protect wildlife and wild places around the world. Check out these different ways to get involved and support conservation efforts.
From all of us at WCN, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay engaged.