Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

Arts & Culture

EARTH - A NEW WILD: Home

Dr. M. Sanjayan with panda. The panda's celebrity status rubs off on the forest. People are more likely to protect a “Panda forest” and that has a knock on effect for the less charismatic animals that do provide vital services. It also affects us. Without the forest millions of people downstream would be prone to devastating flooding. Saving the panda is effectively saving us.
Courtesy of Ami Vitale
Dr. M. Sanjayan with panda. The panda's celebrity status rubs off on the forest. People are more likely to protect a “Panda forest” and that has a knock on effect for the less charismatic animals that do provide vital services. It also affects us. Without the forest millions of people downstream would be prone to devastating flooding. Saving the panda is effectively saving us.

Airs Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV

Dr. M. Sanjayan and baby pandas.
Courtesy of Ami Vitale
Dr. M. Sanjayan and baby pandas.
Host Dr. M. Sanjayan in the rich mangrove forests of Sundarbans. Here the proximity of humans and tigers is having tragic consequences.
Courtesy of Joe Loncraine
Host Dr. M. Sanjayan in the rich mangrove forests of Sundarbans. Here the proximity of humans and tigers is having tragic consequences.
White Vulture. During the 1990s Vultures in Asia were being inadvertently poisoned by us and driven to the brink of extinction. Once considered low value and ugly - the vulture is now being re-appraised as a local hero.
Courtesy of Joe Loncraine
White Vulture. During the 1990s Vultures in Asia were being inadvertently poisoned by us and driven to the brink of extinction. Once considered low value and ugly - the vulture is now being re-appraised as a local hero.

Protect Our Planet

PBS and The Nature Conservancy help test your knowledge of how humans and animals are working together to preserve our natural surroundings.

Take the quiz

This five-part series, "Home" (repeats Sept. 21), "Plains" (repeats Sept. 28), "Forests" (repeats Oct. 5), "Oceans" (repeats Oct. 12) and "Water" (repeats Oct. 19) takes a fresh look at humankind’s relationship to the planet’s wildest places and most fascinating species. Dr. M. Sanjayan, a leading conservation scientist, takes viewers on a stunning visual journey to explore how humans are inextricably woven into every aspect of the planet’s natural systems.

EARTH - A NEW WILD features spectacular natural history footage from the most striking places on Earth, filming encounters between wild animals and the people who live and work with them. With up-close looks at a range of species, from giant pandas to humpback whales and African lions to Arctic reindeer, Sanjayan reveals that co-habitations with animals can work — and be mutually beneficial.

In the first episode, travel deep into the wild to take a fresh look at humankind’s relationship to the big animals that live alongside us. From cuddling baby pandas to avoiding man-eating tigers, Dr. M. Sanjayan investigates our changing relationships with the wilderness. The severe peril of extraordinary animals and their habitats is ever-present, but Sanjayan focuses on the powerful stories that prove animals and humans can thrive side by side. It’s a new kind of wild, but one on which we all depend.

Advertisement

Sequences include chimpanzees with Jane Goodall in Tanzania; man-eating tigers in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh; Giant panda in the highlands of China; and a segment that envisions what New York City would look like if nature took over completely.

“PBS viewers love programs that explore our planet in new and intriguing ways, and EARTH - A NEW WILD takes this idea to an exciting new level,” says PBS Chief Programming Executive and General Manager Beth Hoppe. “This series is an amazing view of us and our natural surroundings as never seen before.”

You can follow @msanjayan on Twitter.

This series originally aired in 2015. Full episodes are available to view on demand with KPBS Passport, video streaming for members ($60 yearly) using your computer, smartphone or tablet. We offer Passport videos on ROKU! Activate your benefit now.

EARTH A New Wild Preview

Advertisement

"This five-part series takes a fresh look at humankind’s relationship to the planet’s wildest places and most fascinating species. Dr. M. Sanjayan

A Closer Look at the Series

"This five-part series takes a fresh look at humankind’s relationship to the planet’s wildest places and most fascinating species. Dr. M. Sanjayan

Dr. M. Sanjayan Discusses the Wild

"This five-part series takes a fresh look at humankind’s relationship to the planet’s wildest places and most fascinating species. Dr. M. Sanjayan