Artenschutz – Faszination Erde | Dirk Steffens | Ganze Folge Terra X

I am always surprised by the diversity of life on earth, the abundance of landscapes and natural spaces. Nature makes you happy, says science. I experienced it too. Well, little one. Many of the most beautiful moments in my life were encounters with wild animals. But we are changing our planet. And trigger the sixth mass extinction in Earth's history. For me, global species extinction is not just an abstract threat, but a personal loss. But optimism is mandatory, because everything can still turn out well. The question is how? *Music* The golden eagle is one of the largest birds in Europe.

He was persecuted mercilessly for centuries. The bird of prey could only survive in inaccessible mountain regions, for example in South Tyrol. A scientist from the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Biology has today contracted the Italian mountain rescue service. The men want to catch a young animal from the nest. I watch everything from the base of the cliff. The eagle chick cannot fly for the first 50 days of its life. But since the exact age cannot be determined from a distance, the mountain rescue service never knows exactly how the eagle will behave. Will it fly away? Or can it simply get caught in the net?

Luckily everything is going well. The goal of the research project is to learn more about the eagles' habitat and the size of their territories. That's why the animal wears a collar. But the exam can only be done in a safe place. That's where Kami and I come into play. Sure? - Excellent. This is an unnamed golden eagle chick. And this is Kami, he's a behavioral biologist and he runs the golden eagle project here. Kami creates a kind of profile. The beak, claws, and wing length tell you the actual age of the animal. Pretty big for a girl.

What does the expert say when he looks at the feathers? How long until this animal can fly? It will be another month before it really flies out. He is now doing his exercises in the nest so he will be ready to make his first flight. The greatest moment of his life. From now on, this young animal is part of Kami's team. He will now observe the bird for several years and determine exactly the distances it travels and where it finds its territory. I find what Kami is doing particularly exciting. Connect the eagle to the Internet. To the Internet of animals.

The project is called Ikarus and is a global satellite-based animal monitoring unit. This makes it possible to monitor the movements of thousands, perhaps even a hundred thousand animals at the same time. The signals are captured by an antenna on the International Space Station (ISS). From now on also those of our young golden eagle. Thousands of animals already carry these transmitters. The goal is to examine the routes of all animals that regularly travel long distances. How long do they last? Where do they lead? And through what habitats? If you want to protect animal species, you have to know their habits.

And that is exactly the idea of ​​the Icarus global system. This is really cool because it allows us to make these animals our senses in nature. Even when he leaves the nest, Kami still knows where he is and what he is doing. And eagles experience and feel things that we do not know. For example, how much poison is in the food pyramid here in the mountains, with the eagles at the top? We can learn this better from them than if we try to figure it out ourselves. Or the interesting question: Where does it make sense to install wind turbines and where does it not?

Because they can pose a danger to animals. We can learn all these things. That's why this basic research is so exciting. Now our little crooked beak goes back to the bag and the nest. Tonight your parents will feed you. *Music* Adult eagles are true long-distance fliers. They travel about 275 kilometers every day. They play an important role in the health of nature because they are predators and scavengers. And with it the district's hygiene and health police. *exciting music* According to Federsbreite, the species, which was once widespread in Europe, would have become extinct. The Alps, difficult to access, served as a refuge for the animals.

Today 2,000 animals still live here, a fraction of what they used to be. You can already see: protecting species is not that easy. The eagle is just one of many species. Scientists estimate that there are at least 8 million species of animals and plants worldwide. Of them, around a million are in danger of extinction. On all continents and in all habitats. And that's exactly what makes protection so difficult. Given this large number, we will hardly be able to protect everyone. But where to start? Are there animal species that are more worthy of protection than others? If you look at the effort, pandas are at the top of the priority list.

There is a panda breeding research center in Chengdu, China. Artificial insemination is part of the standard program. Female pandas are fertile only once a year for just three days. This makes artificial insemination a complicated matter. And it's also expensive. But the Chinese government provides generous funding for pandas. The success rate is impressive. Female pandas often have twins. However, in the wild, the mother can only adequately care for one of the two. In Chengdu, both boys get away with a trick. Scientists only bring the bear one of her cubs at a time. The other rests in the incubator until his turn comes.

How small the puppy is compared to the mother. The official goal is to breed pandas to release them into the wild. Because pandas are rare in nature. Only about 1,900 animals remain. But as bamboo eaters, pandas have very special needs. This is precisely why liberation programs have failed so far. There are simply not enough intact bamboo forests. Chengdu pandas end up in zoos around the world. The Chinese government distributes them as “state gifts.” They are not “gifts”, they are loans. A rental fee of one million US dollars per year must be paid for each pair of pandas.

Since 2017 there have also been pandas in the Berlin Zoo. And in 2019 there were even offspring. Berliners call the twins Pit and Paule, who were also conceived through artificial insemination. Although they were born in Berlin, they are still Chinese owned. And they are also charged a rental fee. This is the breakfast of the stars at the Berlin Zoo. Three fresh and exotic types of bamboo, always blended with precision. Delicious. Hi Anja, where does that come from? We have several feeding stations here. Place something small here in front of the stone. Almost half. The branches arrive fresh every week from the south of France, about 30 tons a year.

Pandas therefore account for a quarter of the zoo's food costs. Eat a lot. They then defecate up to 100 times a day. So much for your dream job as a panda keeper. You're always tidying up, right? Yes, we start again when we leave off. But it's always good when something comes out of it. Where does the second load go? The second load returns there. Up here, the best thing is to get into this trunk. Ah, like a vase. Now get out quickly before they eat it. Get out quickly before we too become fodder. All the pandas look cute.

And the smaller ones are really harmless. But it is better to look at the mother panda from a distance. Now mom is also having breakfast. When I was little, after my first visit to the zoo, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. So it worked for me. Zoo animals announce their wild relatives. And I think that anyone who sees something like that and is not moved has a heart of stone. But it's much easier for us to get involved with those bundles of joy than with the ugly and mean ones in the animal kingdom.

For example, for a yellow-bellied toad. It is as endangered as the panda. But nobody cares. Bad looks can be fatal. It is difficult to estimate what zoos can actually do to protect species. The idea of ​​breeding endangered species here and then releasing them into the wild rarely works in practice. Releases into the wild are very complicated. And if there is no longer any wild place to release the animals, then it is completely useless. Because that is the root of evil, the loss of living space. Habitat loss is the main problem for the panda and many other animals, and it is not surprising.

There are around 8 billion people on Earth today and they are making their mark. Three-quarters of the world's land surface has already undergone significant changes due to human influence. And the needs of one take away the living space of the other. A conflict of interest that is difficult to resolve. The Indonesian forests on the island of Borneo are a place where this conflict is painfully felt: here live Asia's last great apes, the orangutans. Their numbers have halved in a decade. The reason for this is obvious. There are fewer and fewer trees in Borneo. What animal protection organizations do with their rescue centers seems like a drop in the ocean.

I was impressed with the effort they put in there. The orphaned and foundling orangutans that come here, to the Sepilok breeding center, have been lucky in misfortune. At least you have a chance to survive. Both orangutans and humans, at least young children, must be fed and trained for years before they can live independently. For orangutans this takes seven, eight, and sometimes nine years. This is baby season. Here the animals receive medical care and are fed until they are a little bigger and stronger. If all goes well, they will go to the remote station on the other side.

Even if the release works, orangutans still face many dangers. Animals often get lost in oil palm plantations. Farmers kill them so they don't steal the harvest. From an economic perspective, plantations are a boon for the developing country. Half of Indonesia's exports depend on this raw material. The global hunger for palm oil seems limitless. We Germans alone consume around 1.8 million tons every year. Palm oil has many uses, from margarine to baby food to “biodiesel” for our cars. Driving on land, it's obvious: the palm oil industry has the region firmly under its control. Squeezing these fruits produces an odorless oil that is easy to process.

You can use this for an incredible amount of products. That is why global demand continues to increase. If you removed all products containing this product from a German supermarket, the supermarket would be half empty. Another reason for the high demand: palm oil is very cheap. At least for us humans. Others pay the price. Orangutans and many other animals that are in danger of extinction due to jungle deforestation. But there are many more questionable and absurd causes for the global extinction of species. I can see evidence of this at Frankfurt airport. Species extinction is not an abstract problem in distant lands.

We in Germany are really involved. Today I can take a look at the airport catacombs, it's a pretty scary place. This is the Chamber of Secrets. It is full of monstrosities that smugglers wanted to bring to our country. The main customs office confiscates two or three such specimens every day. One more tasteless than the other. 27 percent of all mammals are traded. Who buys something like that? Of the bird species it is 23 percent. And of reptiles, 12 percent. This bloody business is controlled by international criminal gangs. They make billions of dollars every year. Unfortunately, poaching is still a fairly lucrative business.

In South Africa I was able to accompany animal rights activists who intensely care for rhinos. And they themselves go hunting. Will Fowlds is not only a veterinarian, he also has to be a good shooter. The arrows with the anesthetic must sit correctly. After all, the rhino should not be stressed by a long chase. Everyone is careful until the anesthesia takes effect. Such a rhino can be really dangerous. Four veterinarians and ten assistants are on duty to take the animal to safety. Was I of any help now? Oh good. In any case, it was exciting. The entire operation has only one goal: rhino horn.

So, the horn is about 17 centimeters. Will explained this to me in detail: I will mark it three inches from the base of the horn. That's exactly where those who can really do it start to work. The rhinoceros does not feel anything inside this part. Will explains to me: Animals don't feel pain in the horn, although there is some blood supply. Poachers like this: a kilo costs $60,000 on the black market. That's why criminals are so unscrupulous. In traditional Chinese medicine, horn is said to have healing effects. But that's nonsense. The horn is composed solely of keratin, just like nails or hair.

It smells exactly the same, like burnt hair. Without a horn, therhino is safe from poachers. It is not important for survival and grows back. Animal rights activists will therefore have to cut it again within 18 months. Quite an effort to save a single animal. If we want to stop species loss, we have to think big. We need other strategies. Otherwise, we will soon find many of the current species only in museums. Five mass extinctions have already occurred on Earth. So the Big Five of death. Because more and more than three quarters of all animals and plants are extinct.

The last such catastrophe occurred approximately 65 million years ago. Back then, among many others, dinosaurs were also affected. Every time a catastrophe like this occurs, it takes several million years for biodiversity to return to the same level as before, or at least approximately the same. Now researchers fear that the sixth mass extinction has already begun. And that happens even faster and more devastatingly than with dinosaurs. But sometimes miracles happen. It was already on the brink of extinction: the northern bald ibis. Even today it remains one of the rarest birds in the world. The ibis bird was once widespread in Central Europe.

Today he is lucky that some specimens of these strange animals have survived in zoos. So, delicious mealworms. Look here. Can you take it from my hand? What I'm doing here is completely impossible. I feed a species of animal that became extinct in Central Europe centuries ago. But now they are back, at least some of them. You can't eat my ring. This is Sherlock, he will soon enter the box. And then into the wind tunnel. You should learn to fly there. Sherlock has to learn to fly, no. Sherlock will fly. - Another worm? Well, one more thing.

But it's not that you eat too much. Northern bald ibises are migratory birds. But how are the breeding boys supposed to know where to fly in the fall? Zoo survivors have never had to make this journey before. Their only chance: the young animals have to learn to fly from their breeding grounds southwards hand in hand with their human surrogate parents. The birds are now three months old and need to be prepared for their journey across the Alps. Ortal now puts a kind of sports watch on the bird to measure its heart rate. This is a way to do respiratory measurement, the analysis of the energy expenditure of this animal.

Why is such basic research important? Making an extinct species a migratory bird again. For this to work, you have to understand how much energy the animal needs to fly from A to B. Does it have that much energy? How much do you have to eat? This is important basic research to understand what makes a migratory bird a migratory bird. Now they are both almost finished. Then they'll take off Sherlock's hood, I have to go out first. Because if Sherlock discovers that there is a stranger in the room, he will be confused and the investigation will not work.

For the research project, a wind tunnel was built. Sherlock has to train 30 minutes every day. The young bird has to fly against winds of 120 kilometers per hour. It is not unusual for the wind to blow with this magnitude when flying high over the mountains. At the end of summer things get serious for the northern bald ibis. With ultralight aircraft, bird protectors become masters of young birds. They accompany them on the migratory route through the Alps. Birds follow the calls and voices of their adoptive parents. 1,400 kilometers to their wintering place in Tuscany. The journey begins at Lake Constance.

This is where the animals have one of their breeding areas. Depending on the weather, you will need eight daily stages. 29 animals have to be kept together, which is not an easy task. But all the northern ibises persevered and none were lost. It is the 14th time that humans have accompanied young birds from breeding grounds to wintering grounds. And each time the journey ends with a farewell. But after a few years of experience, it is clear: the animals find their way back to their breeding area on Lake Constance alone. GPS data shows that animals fly different routes, but natural migratory behavior has returned.

So far it has cost 4.5 million euros to convert 142 animals back into migratory birds. First of all, it is best not to allow species to become extinct. And so it is always with destroyed nature. Repairing them is incredibly expensive and also time-consuming. Many times it doesn't work either. An extinct species that disappeared forever. But species protection is also complicated. Because we don't know how many species there are. Here, on a glass wall in the Berlin Natural History Museum, 3,000 species are summarized in exemplary form. But there are about 2 million scientifically described. The World Council on Endangered Species estimates there are 8 million.

In fact, there are probably many more. We will probably never know exactly how many. Because many species become extinct before we can know them. Then time runs out. We have to continue like this, because every species counts. Of particular concern is the development of species-rich tropical forests. I have been there many times and had some unforgettable encounters. I once did something really strange so that an animal could get especially close to me. I know what you're thinking, but I can explain it to you. I'm currently dressing up as a colorful flower, just like hummingbirds love. Little birds are also addicted to sugar, and here I have sugar water.

Hummingbirds eat an incredible amount of sugar. That's about the same amount as 1,000 chocolate bars you would eat a day, but without gaining weight. Not surprising given their flapping frequency. So now let's see if it works. Sugar water, yellow and red flowers work best. Now sit still and wait. *Music* More than 8,000 species of plants depend on little birds. Because certain flower shapes only suit certain hummingbird beak shapes. The advantage for the plant: the pollen reaches a “suitable” flower, a flower of the same species, and the hummingbird has a monopoly on the food source. But this exclusive relationship carries a risk: if one of the partners disappears, the other is also doomed to extinction.

There are currently more than 30 species of hummingbirds on the Red List of Endangered Species. We don't know how many plants will die if hummingbirds disappear. We still know little about which living things need which other living things to survive. Not all dependencies of the rainforest network are yet known. Marine ecosystems are even more difficult to understand. The reefs of the Caribbean are home to an inestimable wealth of species. There is a delicate balance in life among colorful coral bushes. It is the natural habitat of thousands of species of fish. If an alien like lionfish invades the untouched world of reefs, it will have dramatic consequences.

Once released by aquarium owners, this invasive species eats about 80% of all fry. That's why conservationists are taking drastic measures. Lionfish are a popular photographic subject for divers around the world, but they are hunted here. The one who just failed is Nick. He works here in a marine protected area. Nick, there's another one. They are an introduced pest that makes life really difficult for native species. That's why controlled hunting opens every few months. It's not particularly pleasant, but if you didn't do it, the existence of many native fish and other marine animals would be threatened. The entire ecosystem would be at risk.

Conservationists can no longer stop the advance of lionfish. Due to its poisonous thorns it has hardly any natural enemies. Only one person avoids lionfish: the Caribbean reef shark. His mouth seems insensitive to the thorns. It is particularly important for the reef community. Sharks are key species in various habitats. As predators at the top of the food pyramid, they ensure a certain balance between species. This is what coral reefs look like when there are no sharks. If the large predator is missing, the barracudas reproduce without obstacles. Barracudas primarily hunt parrotfish, which in turn nibble on coral algae.

Without the parrotfish, the coral polyps suffocate under the algae. And the reef begins to die. This all started with the disappearance of the reef sharks. The shark is a “keystone species.” It ensures that nutrients from deep water are available for life at high altitudes. The fish are attracted. Billions of people benefit from this. Sharks also guarantee intact reefs and therefore natural coastal protection. This means that at least 300 million people around the world are protected from storms and waves. Without sharks, the fundamental element for a stable reef ecosystem is missing. But that also means: if you protect the shark, you can protect an entire ecosystem.

Therefore, the search for “keystone species” is crucial for species protection. It's worth taking a closer look at the small, inconspicuous ones and their role in nature's web. For example, the numerous insects. Who thinks about how irreplaceable pollinators are while eating breakfast? Without bees and other pollinating insects, we would have to give up about a third of global food production. Without Keystone bees there wouldn't be much left on the table. There are many calls for the protection of bees. But the western honey bee Apis mellifera is not in danger of extinction. Like pigs or cows, it is a farm animal species that is kept around the world.

Well served by beekeepers. Wild relatives, on the other hand, fare very poorly. In Germany there are around 600 bee species, half of which are on the red list. And unfortunately wild bees have no lobby. The natural grasslands where they can live are increasingly scarce. Of course, bees need flowers. But they also need to have a place to live. These endings are ideal for this. In the sand, the small holes are bee nests. Here they can easily drill their tunnels into the ground. In this small piece alone, 30 different species of wild bees nest. And it is estimated that 120 different species live throughout the prairie.

Some of them are even really weird. This is a Knautia sand bee. It is on the Red List of Threatened Species. Why did I, as a bee fan, find one immediately? Because this is a Knautie. And these bees feed almost exclusively on the pollen of this flower. When you see a flower like that, you just have to wait a little and then this bee is usually not very far away. Then, fly. She still tries to sting me, she has a little stinger. Zack, she's gone. It is amazing to see the fascinating bees that can be found in a meadow here in Germany.

My favorite bee is the snail shell bee. The bee builds a house from the shell of a snail. To do this you have to place it in the correct position. In the next step, it collects pollen and deposits it in the snail's shell as food for its larvae. And when it is finished, the bee brings small stones and uses them to close the entrance to its nest and protect it from enemies. The next phase of construction is the most fascinating. In more than 100 transport flights, the bee collects stems and sticks and uses them to camouflage its snail shell. *Music* The small animal can fly towards stems up to 10 cm long.

Crazy, right? It takes three days to finish the nest. In its lifespan of only about a month and a half, the snail bee creates five to eight such nests. This is a very busy bee. The best habitats for wildflowers are found in places with nutrient-poor soils. This may seem strange, but it is completely logical. When the soil is poor in nutrients, plants of the same species that require the same combination of nutrients cannot grow together. There is always a certain distance between the two. Other plants can then grow that need a different nutrient mix. Therefore, the poverty of nutrients in the soil ensures species richness.

Every amateur gardener knows this, but modern agriculture works differently: it fertilizes intensively and transforms nutrient-poor soils into nutrient-rich soils. In this way, the human being intervenes deeply in the natural material cycle. Agriculture is considered one of the main causes of species extinction. About 50% of Germany's land area is used for agriculture. The impact on nature is correspondingly large. And determining it exactly is quite complicated. Even in a nature reserve, problems can arise that you never expected. It looks wonderful here, but it's actually too green. Too much grass and not enough colorful flowers. This is a sign of eutrophication, of overfertilization.

And that's very strange, isn't it? Because this is a nature reserve. No one has fertilized here for decades. So where does this come from? This is really incredible: fertilizer can come from very far away. The problem is nitrogen oxides, which we know from thedebate about fine dust in cities, where they enter the air through cars, heating systems and industrial plants. However, new studies show that these nitrogenous compounds can also pose a problem for nature. They can spread with the wind and rain elsewhere. Nitrogen fertilizer from the air. This shows the main problem in the protection of nature and species: it is often not possible to clearly identify cause and effect.

We are just beginning to learn more about all the int

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pendencies in ecosystems. It is not at all clear which animal and plant species depend on each other and how. And how we humans get involved. This makes it very difficult, sometimes even impossible, to decide which species need special protection. For our own interest. If one of the many millions of species disappears from time to time, then that is not a threat to humans. Let's say the northern bald ibis, that's what they're supposed to be. They would become extinct, they would disappear from the life system. Then it will not immediately break the entire system as a whole.

If orangutans, rhinos or pandas also became extinct, then they probably still wouldn't be a threat to us humans. But now it is estimated that 150 species die every day. Approximately one every 10 minutes. And that is threatening because at some point the system will become unstable. And if it becomes too unstable, it collapses. And that will also be an existential threat to us humans. Plus, this planet would be pretty boring without all these wonderful animals and plants. See you soon. And stay fascinated. Subtitles commissioned by ZDF, 2020