Nature’s survivors: The adaptability of wildlife

Extreme weather events are nothing new. Many creatures have had to adapt to big changes, over millions of years. But the climate crisis is putting flora and fauna under unprecedented pressure.

The Orangutan Whisperer

Can orangutan expert Leif Cocks and special jungle schools in Sumatra help save the endangered species from extinction?

They call him the "orangutan whisperer".

Leif Cocks is a former zookeeper from Australia who has dedicated his life to reintroducing endangered orangutans into the wild, something previously thought impossible.

At a jungle school in Sumatra, Indonesia, rescued orangutans practise climbing, foraging and fending for themselves in the forests.

Cocks has successfully reintroduced 180 of these animals and plans to save 8,000 more over the next decade.

Who is gaining from illegal wildlife trade?

UN says virtually every country in the world plays a role either as a source, transit or destination for the trade.



Crimes involving wildlife have increased dramatically over the past few years.

The World Wildlife Fund says these crimes are the fifth most profitable illicit trade in the world - estimated to be worth $10bn a year.

Now for the first time, the UN has produced a global report on the problem. It says virtually every country in the world plays a role either as a source, transit or destination for illegal wildlife trade.

Suspected traffickers represent about 80 different nationalities, it says.

The report says illegally acquired animals are being sold in legal markets - and much of the time the buyer is unaware.

And it says that without international regulation, it is difficult to prevent illegally acquired wildlife from being traded once goods leave their home harbour.

Shark Alarm: Protecting Australia's Swimmers

101 East dives headfirst into the debate over whether Australia is doing enough to protect swimmers from shark attacks.



It's one of our greatest fears - the stuff of horror movies and ocean folklore. But for many Australians, the prospect of being eaten by a shark has become all too real.

A spate of shark attacks - some fatal - has left Australians' love affair with the ocean in tatters. Some argue nets are vital to keep these predators at bay, but others say those who enter the sharks' natural domain must accept the risk.

We follow a reptile handler-turned-scientist in his quest to save thousands of people from deadly snakebites.

It’s a fearsome creature cloaked in superstition. The Papuan Taipan kills about 1,000 people in Papua New Guinea each year – more than communicable diseases in some parts of the country.

If bitten, a villager's only hope of survival is the expensive anti-venom that's rarely stocked in the isolated clinics. Their life saver is the "snake man" - Australian herpetologist and toxinologist, David Williams.

Williams' dangerous work handling the deadly Taipan is paying off - he has developed a cheaper anti-venom.

The Orangutan Whisperer

Can orangutan expert Leif Cocks and special jungle schools in Sumatra help save the endangered species from extinction?




Leif Cocks is a former zookeeper from Australia who has dedicated his life to reintroducing endangered orangutans into the wild, something previously thought impossible.

At a jungle school in Sumatra, Indonesia, rescued orangutans practise climbing, foraging and fending for themselves in the forests.

Cocks has successfully reintroduced 180 of these animals and plans to save 8,000 more over the next decade.

"My goal is to save enough habitat that we can have 8,000 orangutans protected in reserves that we are looking after. And that will secure the species. That's my goal. That's at least a decent way of spending one's life."

Wildlife crime scene investigators

We visit the only wildlife CSI forensics lab in the world as it helps to prosecute traders of illegal rhino horn.


The rhinoceros has been hunted to near extinction as part of an illegal trade in endangered animals that has become the fourth largest criminal industry in the world. Now it has a champion. We see how a CSI team in the United States is using its forensic skills to target the hunters.

This illegal industry is worth $19bn, while only 30,000 rhinos remain in the wild today.

We visit the US Fish & Wildlife Service Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, the world's only crime lab devoted to wildlife. It investigates cases for the US as well as 180 other countries belonging to CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Ken Goddard, its director and founder, spent 30 years investigating human crimes before turning his expertise to helping endangered species.

"Police work

Pricing the Planet (video)

Economists, bankers, investment funds and financiers are taking a huge interest in the environmental crisis. They say they can protect the planet their way - with money.

This two-part documentary investigates the declining state of our planet and whether a commercial approach can in fact save it.

We see how since the Industrial Revolution we have heavily depleted our natural resources, polluted the planet, and how we are now losing endangered species at an alarming rate.

To satisfy our current demands, we use the resources of one-and-a-half Earths. At this rate, by 2030, we'll be using resources equivalent to two-and-a-half Earths. Gilles Boeuf, president of the French National Museum of Natural History, tells us: "By 2048 the last fish will be pulled from the ocean."

White Gold

A 101 East investigation into the shadowy trade in illegal ivory and Hong Kong's role as a key conduit.


China's love of ivory is helping to fuel an illicit global trade.

The supply chain is complicated and often hard to trace, but it begins in the bush in Africa, where poachers kill an estimated 30,000 elephants each year.

Tusks taken from slaughtered animals are then shipped through a complex web of middlemen before reaching Chinese buyers.

A key conduit is the city of Hong Kong, where an undercover investigation reveals that legitimate operations are used to mask a far more sinister, more lucrative business.

Papua New Guinea's Snake Man

We follow a reptile handler-turned-scientist in his request to save thousands of people from deadly snakebites.



It’s a fearsome creature cloaked in superstition. The Papuan Taipan kills about 1,000 people in Papua New Guinea each year – more than communicable diseases in some parts of the country.

If bitten, a villager's only hope of survival is the expensive anti-venom that's rarely stocked in the isolated clinics. Their life saver is the "snake man" - Australian herpetologist and toxinologist, David Williams.

Williams' dangerous work handling the deadly Taipan is paying off - he has developed a cheaper anti-venom.

The man who 'killed' Pluto and nature in the lab

This episode of TechKnow continues the exploration of new technology and its impact on lives in a first ever on-the-road special.

Our contributors head to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), one of the world's most recognisable and active science institutions, which has captured the imagination of popular culture, having been featured in television shows such as The Big Bang Theory, to check out some of the groundbreaking research and discoveries coming out of the labs.


We speak to MacArthur 'Genius Grant' recipient and Caltech professor of aeronautics and bioengineering, Dr John Dabiri, about mimicking nature in the lab. Dabiri explains how he is studying nature to better understand how to make devices more energy efficient.

According to him, underwater patterns of schools of fish can be used to improve the efficiency of wind turbines, and "stealing ideas" from jellyfish movements to develop underwater vehicles - research that the US Navy is interested in.

Saving Thailand's Animals

Visiting a tiger temple, watching a performing monkey show or riding an elephant are the top attractions on Thailand's tourist trail.

What guides do not tell visitors are that many of these animals have been abused.

Thailand recently introduced laws to protect animals born in captivity. But critics claim they will do little to prevent mistreatment in this multi-million dollar entertainment industry.