Species protection 2.0

D 2024

Scientists around the world are working to protect animals threatened with extinction. Because the sixth extinction of species is in full swing. Around 150 species disappear every day. In the race against time, researchers around the globe are now relying more and more on high-tech.

The visually stunning documentary is a journey to various scientists, start-ups and conservationists who are working flat out on futuristic technologies.

Martin Wikelski's idea is an internet of animals. The Director at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior is researching the movement patterns of animals worldwide. His big data platform Movebank already contains over six billion GPS points. A global prediction system for life on earth is within reach.

In Germany, high-tech is to protect endangered bird species from being killed by wind turbines. At its heart: a camera-based system that uses artificial intelligence to recognize in seconds whether a red kite or eagle is approaching and stops the rotor blades in time.

In Kenya, AI software is set to help determine population figures faster and more accurately than before using photos. In the shadow of Africa's "Big Five", the numbers of giraffes have declined massively in recent decades.

And off the coast of Corsica, marine biologist Alicia Dalongeville sets off in search of a species that was thought to be extinct: the angel shark. She fishes in the depths for eDNA, also known as environmental DNA. Detective work in the Mediterranean!

Can high-tech become the key to species protection?