Season Two of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild is coming soon to NBC! Get a preview of the wild adventures with travel notes from Co-Hosts Peter Gros and Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant.
New species coming to Protecting the Wild
Sawfish and sharks
The Bahamas is not only a tropical paradise — it’s an important spot for conservation of sawfish and sharks. The government of the Bahamas has named the country as a shark sanctuary, with strict marine protection rules so these sharks can continue to flourish.
Wild Kingdom visited Atlantis Paradise Island, home to more than 250 animal species. There, Peter and Dr. Rae watched a sawfish feeding and learned about the conservation work at the resort. Peter also dove into the Bahamas’ beautiful clear waters to observe sharks in the wild.
“A memory that will stay with me forever was watching a 9-foot reef shark casually swim toward me to check me out and then brush the top of my head as if to approve of me sharing his underwater world. It was such a thrill to dive in an actual shark sanctuary and learn of all the important data being discovered about the life of one our ocean’s top predators, the magnificent shark,” Peter said.
Additional filming was done off Florida’s Gulf Coast where Peter assisted in tagging sharks and sawfish. This tagging helps researchers learn about the marine life’s migration and behavioral patterns.
“I held the thrashing shark while Dr. Yannis Papastamatiou of Florida International University took the vital scientific measurements. It was quite a challenge as this 400-pound shark would occasionally decide he wanted to leave. Soaking wet and exhausted we high-fived as the shark was released off the back of the boat, mission accomplished,” Peter said.
To see more Wild Kingdom shark adventures, check out Season One episode, “Mysteries of the Great White.”
Polar bears
Peter and Dr. Rae visited the “Polar Bear Capital of the World,” Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Every summer, polar bears flock to this town along the Hudson Bay to seek refuge ashore when ice melts in their range. The bears take the time to rest, not eating much and expending as little energy as possible.
“We saw our first polar bear, a mama and yearling cub, less than two hours after our small plane landed in Churchill and it was nothing short of amazing,” Dr. Rae said. Seeing polar bears in the wild was a bucket list item for our bear expert!
The polar bears wait out in Churchill for the ice to freeze so they can hunt ring seals in the Hudson Bay.
“How fortunate we were, with the assistance of local guides, to witness an adult polar bear in the distance with its cub nursing,” Peter said. “We also saw another basking in the sun, then strolling into the river to cool itself.”
This wasn’t Peter’s first time in Churchill filming polar bears with Wild Kingdom, however. Watch his adventures in Churchill with Jim Fowler in the classic series episode, “Problem Bears of the North.”
Manatees
The Wild Kingdom crew was back in Florida to film one of the state’s most iconic species, the manatee. Dr. Rae observed rescue and rehabilitation efforts at Sea World Orlando Manatee Rescue Center and witnessed the release of rehabilitated manatees into Blue Spring State Park, a natural hot spring where hundreds of manatees come together to stay warm during the winter.
“The freshwater systems in this part of central Florida are lush, clean and thriving with biodiversity,” Dr. Rae said.
They also traveled to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium to see the rehabilitation of emaciated manatees. The team there helps the manatees get healthy so they can be released to native habitat.
“To see the teamwork and training to save the manatee to be safely released is something to see, and you can on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild,” Peter said.
Watch the Season One episode, “Sea Creatures of the Florida Coast” to learn more about manatees.
Beluga whales
Beluga whales are known for their white outer skin, which blends into the snowy waters of their native territory, the Arctic. The co-hosts first traveled to the Georgia Aquarium to see staff measure the whales’ metabolic rates to better understand how the species lives in the wild.
Next, Dr. Rae and Peter ventured to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, to see wild beluga whales. This area has the world’s largest concentration of the species with a pod of over 60,000. The co-hosts kayaked and boated near the wild whales.
“We were truly blown away with just how willing they were to be so near to us. This species needs help to protect them, and what better way to get motivation to do this than to be so naturally up close and personal with these amazing creatures,” Dr. Rae said.
“As I kayaked among these social, gregarious whales it appeared they were playing with me. One even blew water in my face from its blow hole and then slipped beneath my kayak,” Peter said.
Rare reptiles
Have you ever heard of “herping”? It means to search for amphibians and reptiles in the wild and something Dr. Rae never thought she’d do!
“Never in my life would I have thought I’d find myself wading through murky, snake-filled waters late at night in southern Georgia with little more than a headlamp and a handheld flashlight, but apparently that’s the best way to go herping!” Dr. Rae said.
Working under proper permits and protocols, Dr. Rae entered the swamp and held water snakes, bullfrogs and snapping turtles.
“I had to push down my fears of being bitten by something I couldn’t see and got into the fun with our fearless guests,” she said.
Bison, prairie dogs and wild horses
Peter and Dr. Rae traveled to Montana and Wyoming to search for wide open spaces — and wildlife of course! First up was a trip to see bison and prairie dogs at the American Prairie Reserve in eastern Montana where conservationists are restoring the prairie from agricultural landscapes to thriving ecosystems.
Next, the co-hosts headed to Wind River Wild Horse Sanctuary in Wyoming to learn about the complications behind wild horse conservation. They also spent time with a Navajo family who has dedicated their lives to taking care of wild herds on their ranch.
The horse sanctuary is on the Wind River Indian Reservation, where Peter also spent time touring a herd of bison that had been successfully introduced to its native area.
“To see this keystone species in the vast range where historically they had roamed by the millions, was breathtaking,” Peter said.
Whale sharks
Though most people wouldn’t describe a shark as a gentle giant, it’s a common phrase associated with whale sharks. In fact, these sharks are so nonthreatening that it’s usually safe to swim alongside them. At the Georgia Aquarium, Dr. Rae zipped up her wetsuit and climbed into the whale shark tank to observe these creatures.
The aquarium’s two whale sharks were rescued from the waters off Taiwan after getting tangled in fishing nets. Today they live in an enormous tank — over two stories tall!
“It was such a profound experience that I found myself in tears upon emerging from the water,” Dr. Rae said. Watch the episode to see what moved her so deeply.
Meanwhile, Peter completed a lifelong dream — swimming with whale sharks off the coast of Mexico. There, he accompanied marine biologists studying the effects of ecotourism on the behavior of whale sharks. Although behavioral tagging and tracking is still inconclusive, it appeared that the whale sharks are unaffected.
“Several swam close to me not altering their slow-moving feeding behavior. Yes, this school-bus-sized fish had me mesmerized as I shared its ocean environment in such close proximity,” Peter said.
Great lakes fish and birds
Countless fish call the freshwater ecosystem of the Great Lakes region home and Wild Kingdom visited Illinois, Michigan and Ohio to see the conservation efforts of these animals. First, the co-hosts traveled to the Chicago River to learn how wildlife managers and scientists are dealing with the invasive Asian carp in innovative ways that also provide food and economic opportunities for Midwesterners.
Next, they visited northern Michigan to learn about piping plovers, a migratory bird that lays eggs on the shores of Lake Michigan. Dr. Rae and Peter helped conservationists identify bird nests, count hatchlings and reinforce boundaries to protect the plovers.
“It was the best kind of field work and honestly felt a bit like a vacation! With crystal blue waters and warm weather, being on the lake was a wonderful experience,” Dr. Rae said.
At Ohio’s Toledo Zoo and Aquarium Peter saw sturgeon conservation in action. The reintroduction program begins with a collection of sturgeon eggs. Then the fish grow until they’re about four to five inches and released into the Maumee River, eventually making their way back to Lake Erie. Each year, more than 1,500 young sturgeons with tracking tags are introduced. This program came right in time, allowing lake sturgeon to avoid the endangered species list!
Peter then helped with a large wild sturgeon, weighing in around 90 pounds. Scientists caught, measured and checked its tag and then handed the fish to Peter for release.
“Just holding the most powerful, slimiest fish I have ever tried to contain became a very memorable challenge. But as always, the highlight of returning wildlife back to its original marine habitat, knowing it will spend the remainder of its life swimming free where it belongs,” Peter said.
For more animals featured on Season Two of Protecting the Wild, check out these six species filmed in the U.S. and species filmed in Panama.
