Earth Touch Insider (HD)

Get an inside look at day-to-day life in one of South Africa’s closely guarded rhino orphanages. As poaching continues to decimate rhino populations, some particularly vulnerable victims are left behind: calves orphaned when their mothers are killed. It takes a dedicated team of wildlife heroes to save these traumatised youngsters. Special thanks to: http://www.earthorganization.org/projects/rhino-orphanage/ https://www.facebook.com/rhinoorphanage

The Tasmanian devil is a tough creature with a fearsome reputation. In its natural habitat it has no predators, yet devil numbers are plummeting. Cancerous facial tumours caused by devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) are decimating wild populations of these carnivorous marsupials. But there is hope! In this Earth Touch Insider, we discover how the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program and partner organisations like Toledo Zoo are fighting to save this iconic predator from extinction. Toledo Zoo: http://www.toledozoo.org/ Save The Tasmanian Devil Program: http://www.tassiedevil.com.au/tasdevil.nsf

It is inconceivable to imagine Africa without its elephants. Yet as poaching reaches critical levels, we are heading ever-closer to that grim reality. We take an in-depth look at why the demand for ivory skyrocketed, how the illegal wildlife trade is a threat to global security and what is being done to save Africa’s elephants from extinction. EIA: https://eia-international.org/ Wildlife Direct: http://wildlifedirect.org/ WildAid: http://www.wildaid.org/

Africa’s vultures are in trouble. The poisoning of poached elephant carcasses means that these birds are dying in huge numbers. Here’s an inside look at what it takes to rehabilitate these truly remarkable animals.

They’ve been called the world’s most trafficked animal you’ve never heard of. Pangolins are notoriously difficult to rehabilitate and release, but one woman in Namibia is getting it right, thanks to lessons learned from one of these scaly anteaters. Meet Katiti! Rare and Endangered Species Trust, Namibia: http://www.restafrica.org/

We’re going behind the scenes this week to film groundbreaking beak surgery that will give an African penguin a second chance at life in the wild. After being hit by a car and left with a fractured, disfigured beak, the bird will get a prosthetic replacement – but there’s a catch. It needs to make a 900-mile journey to a specialist centre first.

Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives, but that isn’t stopping humans from exploiting these apes to devastating levels. In this episode of Insider, we take a look at the pet and bushmeat trades, and visit a sanctuary for those chimps lucky enough to be rescued from this fate.

Meet Dr Angelo Lambiris, one of the few people in the world who perform intricate surgery on reptiles and amphibians. In this episode of Insider, Dr Lambiris operates on an obese Bosc monitor lizard and discovers an inoperable cancerous tumour in its intestine.

We take our cameras inside two Thailand sanctuaries for rescued and injured slow lorises to meet the vets and volunteers dealing firsthand with the consequences of the illegal trade in these threatened primates. They might be some of the most adorable creatures on earth, but that cuteness has put slow lorises at serious risk from the exotic pet industry. Additional footage courtesy of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand : http://www.wfft.org/, Love Wildlife Foundation, Thailand http://www.lovewildlife.org/

We took our cameras into the field recently to film an innovative surgery on a lioness: a hysterectomy. Lion populations in small game reserves need to be closely regulated – but how do you manage this without upsetting the natural balance or resorting to culling? Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa is solving this problem by performing partial hysterectomies on female lions.