Around the globe, unique and fascinating species face extinction from hunting and habitat destruction, which affects vulnerable animals in every kind of environment. Biologists, conservationists, wildlife preservation centers and zoological parks work to breed and shelter rare and critically endangered animals when and where they can, but many species are down to the last few individuals and face an increasingly uncertain future. For some, however, the future is all too clear. Lonesome George, a Pinta Island tortoise from the Galapagos Islands, is the very last of his kind. For centuries, until they were believed to be extinct, his species kept sailors and pirates well-fed on the high seas. George alone survived. But when George dies, millions of years of evolution will come to an end. Other species, like Spix’s macaws, lemurs, Iberian lynxes, rhinos, black-footed ferrets and Chinese rafetus turtles, were well on their way to joining George as the loneliest animals in the world until help arrived, providing hope for a better outcome.

Each species in trouble presents unique challenges, including inbreeding and lack of genetic diversity, sibling rivalry on an extreme scale, and individuals who may never have seen another of their kind. There are some successes with captive breeding. For example, the black-footed ferret, once thought to be entirely extinct, is now being reintroduced to its natural home on the American plains after an incredible intervention by scientists. But rebounding in artificial settings doesn’t put endangered animals in the clear – populations may grow, but without successful action to preserve and maintain their wild habitats, they may be confined to laboratories and sanctuaries forever.

The Loneliest Animals follows the plight of these incredible, charismatic creatures and the struggles of the dedicated conservationists who fight for them.

Production Credits Print

Television Credits

Narrated by
F. MURRAY ABRAHAM

Written and Produced by
DOUG SHULTZ

Supervising Producer
PETER SCHNALL

Editor
BRETT YOUNG

Coordinating Producer
WHITNEY JOHNSON

Associate Producer
ANDRÉA BORRERO

Original Music
GARY POZNER

Director Of Photography
PETER SCHNALL

Additional Cinematography
NEIL HIGGINSON
STEPHEN McCARTHY
JULIAN NAVARRO
JERRY RISIUS
ERICH ROLAND
DANIEL TRAUB

Production Assistant
WILLIAM KERR

Production Interns
BONITA CUTLIFF
SARA KINNEY
SEJAN YUN

Sound Recordists
AMIR
TAMER EL DEMERDASH
FERNANDO CASERES
LEE FRANK
PAUL HELLARD
DON MERCZ
JOSÉ JOAQUIN PACHÓN
LEN SCHMITZ
GEORGE SHAFNACKER
HECTOR VALDES
YAN BO WU
AARON WEBSTER

Location Managers
JIAXI CHEN, CHINA
NOVI JENKINS, INDONESIA
MICHAEL MOFFET, CAMINO MEDIA, SPAIN
PAOLA TOAPANTA, URBANO FILMS, ECUADOR
TERRI THRUSH, BLUE MORPHO MEDIA, PANAMA

Additional Crew
ETHAN JOHNSON
DIAN SURYANSYAH
TONI

Assistant Editors
BO MEHRAD
DASHIELL ECKMAN

Sound Design
BRIAN BEATRICE

Sound Mix
ED CAMPBELL

Color Correction
STEWART GRIFFIN

Production Accountant
REBECCA COHEN

Legal Services
FRANKLIN, WEINRIB, RUDELL & VASSALO P.C.

Stock Footage/Stills
ABSOLUTELY WILD VISUALS
AP ARCHIVE
ARTBEATS
BBC MOTION GALLERY
CINCINNATI ZOO & BOTANICAL GARDENS
CORBIS MOTION GALLERY
DGT FILMES, BRAZIL
DAVID HARING, DUKE LEMUR CENTER
GETTY IMAGES
IBERIAN LYNX CAPTIVE BREEDING CENTER
ITN ARCHIVES
LIVING PLANET PRODUCTIONS
METRO TV NEWS, INDONESIA
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIGITAL MOTION
SCANDINATURE

Special Thanks
AL WABRA WILDLIFE PRESERVE, QATAR
DUKE LEMUR CENTER
DR. SUSIE ELLIS,
INTERNATIONAL RHINO FOUNDATION
EDGARDO GRIFFITH,
EL VALLE AMPHIBIAN CONSERVATION CENTER
DR. JoGAYLE HOWARD,
CONSERVATION & RESEARCH CENTER,
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
RICK HUDSON, TURTLE SURVIVAL ALLIANCE
INDONESIAN CONSULATE GENERAL, NEW YORK
JAVAN GIBBON REHABILITATION CENTER
THE MARYLAND ZOO IN BALTIMORE
DR. TERRI ROTH,
CINCINNATI ZOO & BOTANICAL GARDENS
BAMBANG SUKMANANTO,
GUNUNG GEDE PANGRANGO NATIONAL PARK,
INDONESIA
SUMATRAN RHINO SANCTUARY
DR. JATNA SUPRIATNA,
CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL, INDONESIA
U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY

For Nature

Series Editor
JANET HESS

Supervising Producer
JANICE YOUNG

Senior Producer
LAURA METZGER

Producers
JILL CLARKE
IRENE HESS

Production Manager
JULIE SCHAPIRO THORMAN

Production Assistant
JAYNE JUN

Manager
EILEEN FRAHER

Audio Mixer
ED CAMPBELL

HD Online Editor
DAVID NOLING

Offline Editor
STACEY DOUGLASS MOVERLEY

Series Producer
BILL MURPHY

Executive In Charge
WILLIAM GRANT

Executive Producer
FRED KAUFMAN

A Production of Partisan Pictures and THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG and National Geographic Channel International.

This program was produced by THIRTEEN, which is solely responsible for its content.

Web Credits

Producer
TANNER VEA

Production Assistance
DIANA COFRESÍ-TERRERO
ELIZABETH McGOVERN
CHIE WITT

Writing
"Introduction" and "Interactive Map: Endangered Species Hot Spots" by ELIZABETH McGOVERN
"Captive Breeding Success Stories" and "Meet the Experts" by ANGELA SAKRISON

Photos
Interactive Map: Sunda clouded leopard photo by Nancy Vandermey, licensed under GNU Free Documentation License. Asian elephant photo by Dick Mudde. Rio Carauta stubfoot toad by Grufnik, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License - Version 2.0. Axolotl photo by LoKiLeCh, licensed under GNU Free Documentation License.

Designer
JOY WEEENG

Pagebuilding
BRIAN SANTALONE

Technical Director
BRIAN LEE

Creative Director
NICK MILLER

Director of Digital Strategy
DAVID HIRMES

Director of Production
DANIEL B. GREENBERG

Thirteen Online is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York’s Kravis Multimedia Education Center in New York City. Dan Goldman, Executive Director, thirteen.org. Bob Adleman, Business Manager.