Dr. James Borrell is a conservation scientist and runs a great blog which you can read here. In this TEDx talk he tackles perhaps the biggest question of all…is there hope in conservation? Spoiler alrert: there bloody well is!
James talks about some of the species which have been brought back from the very brink of extinction. There’s the Southern white rhino: thought extinct in 1895, a small population of less than 100 individuals was discovered. Today they are the most common rhino subspecies on our planet.
There’s the Lord Howe stick insect. Again, thought extinct for nigh over a century. This time, rediscovered in a single bush atop of rocky outrop. Thanks to a bit helping hand, they’ve got more than just a fighting chance once more.
More hopeful stories come from the Mauritius kestrel, Hispaniolan giant tortoise, American black-footed ferret, Chatham Island black robin and the Californian condor… so take a watch!
Perhaps the most powerful message of all comes right at the end of James’ talk.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A SCIENTIST TO DO YOUR BIT TO CONSERVE WILDLIFE. Everybody can get involved, and everybody has an angle they can bring!
In fact, it is perhaps those people who are not conservationists who have the largest role to play in conserving wildlife into the future. Why?
Because a vital thing to understand is that the diffusion of any message through a population is limited not just by audience size, but by how diverse those audience members are. A business person, a hot dog vendor or an acrobat can reach a whole new sphere of people that your average conservationist could never hope to engage.
So get on it hot dog vendors: we need you!
