YouSaid · the spoken record

Ami Vitale

lines on the record: 60
first: 2024-02-07
most recent: 2024-02-07
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Oh, well, I have many projects, but we're launching our next campaign to support getting elephants that were orphaned back into the wild. So I'm launching that. I have a film also that's going to be opening at the American Museum of Natural History in New York as part of their elephant exhibition. And so next work is all around elephants. And of course, the Northern White Rhino. I keep going back for that.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think it was being allowed to tell the stories and then realizing that people wanted to hear the story. So I think I didn't really get a strong voice until very recently when I was asked to become a speaker. And I think that the first few talks that I gave were terrible, but then with a little bit of confidence and realizing the beauty in these stories and the power of sharing them, that it could inspire so many other people to remember that it was never about me, that I'm just the messenger. That gave me great, great confidence. And I think it was actually that part of”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Oh, I mean ethics and empathy, and sometimes it's the really shy people that may not have a lot of self-confidence. And I recognize who I was when I started and realized that we all have great capacity within ourselves. And I was written off in the beginning because I was so shy and people didn't think I had what it took. And actually, those are the people that I want in the field, the sensitive souls, the people that are, you know, not thinking it's about them. They don't have large egos. I actually want them out in the world telling the stories. And the underdog, I'm always getting behind the underdogs in the world.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Oh, it was because it was in the world of that shift from film to digital where I could then send in pictures and very often people thought I was a man. And so in the beginning, I was able to do the work that I do because people didn't really know that I was a woman. I would always get letters back, dear sir. And I think, you know, in the beginning, a lot of people told me I didn't belong there. I shouldn't be there. And I'm so proud that we've made great change in the last 20 years. We still have a ton of work to do, but I think that in today's world, there's probably more female photographers and journalists out there get graduating from schools than there are men. And I'm glad about that because I think that it changes the way the world looks. But I think we need to work harder to create more.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That would be my professor Rich Beckman, who not only spotted it but cultivated it, nurtured it, has been my guide for now thirty five years or more and oh more. Oh, that's frightening. And really help me see the opportunities for somebody that I couldn't get a job in the beginning because I wasn't a proven talent. That would be him. And then there's so many people along the way who have trusted me, given me access to stories. Yeah, there's a lot of names there, Tyler.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I let the stories guide me, so it depends what would be happening where my work would be of greatest value. And, you know, I think it's usually the long term story. So I tell stories over time. I think stories need time to evolve. And it's probably going to be back in northern Kenya. I think that we will see a northern white rhino baby in our lifetime, and I suspect it will be to get back there quickly, to witness the birth of a northern white rhino baby. That's my great hope.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Engaged in the world and I think walk towards the things that scare you. Embrace them, embrace fear, walk towards communities and people that you don't understand. I think Tyler, you may know this as somebody who's had the privilege of traveling as much as you have, that we need more understanding, truly listening to each other and understanding of the people and the things that are different than what we know. And so I do not want to relax right now. I want to empower others to share their own stories. And I don't need to travel as much anymore. I actually think that I can do a lot of work right here from home and maybe my imprint on the world can be by supporting. Others to tell those stories, but yeah, I one day want to interview you. Is that possible?”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Hm. Well, I don't want to relax if you're not Feeling anxious about the state of the world right now, I think you have your head in the sand. And in some ways I can understand wanting to put your head in the sand because it's hard. Understanding what's happening. I want to stay engaged. I think that there has never been a need to be.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Oh, I think they do. I mean, how many followers do they have? They do, and they need to really be careful with that. Missions and work coming out of both sides of that institution”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The permission, the blessings of the community first and foremost, and then I also ask like, well, you know, in today's world, with all of these platforms and ways of sharing stories, why shouldn't the people whose stories you're telling be able to tell their own stories? And I'm trying to do everything I can with my nonprofit to give the tools and give access. I mean, I think that we need to hear the stories from everybody because the only way we're going to become, you know, create a more equitable world and get to a more balanced world is by having that multitude of voices and people sharing their own stories.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Absolutely Absolutely. And I also ask myself every time I'm taking a picture, what gives me the right to be taking this picture? And I also believe it is important to ask, you know, this question, who gets to take the picture is very important. I work a lot right now to try to bring cameras to the communities that I spend a lot of time working in so they can own their stories as well. It's not that I think it is wrong for outsiders to take pictures and tell stories. I think, first of all, you need to make sure you have permission to be there. I think it's important to have a multitude of viewpoints. Sometimes outsiders can give great perspective to a story, but you need to have”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And so when I'm working in places, I pay attention to these stories of the photographers that went before me and I make sure that people really want me there. I need to know I have their permission. And I think that is something all of us need to really reflect on and pay attention to.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“To first get the blessings of the people you're photographing, let them understand why you're there, what you're doing, and to be sensitive. And I think that is an example of it. Like maybe this is a wonderful photographer who took all these pictures that are iconic. But in this case, we're hearing now the stories that it was traumatic for the girl that was photographed. And I think it's really important to understand that for anybody with a camera, that it can be a weapon in many ways and can be really exploitative. And a lot of cultures believe that photography takes a piece of their soul. And even the Sam Brewer, the community I work in, they also say that photography can take a piece of our soul.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, you know, I think now we're hearing stories about the truth of that image and the woman she's now an adult. She was a girl that was photographed. And I think it's an important lesson for photographers, especially when we're going and photographing out of our own communities, out of our own cultures, to tread lightly, to understand where you are. And so photography can be very powerful and give voice and amplify people's stories. It can also be tremendously exploitative and colonial and all of these horrific things come with photography. And so, you know, I think that I really pay attention and it doesn't matter where you are, but you need to take the time.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The camera, I don't enjoy being in the public eye, but once you take these powerful images, you realize these images and the stories give us voice and we have to go and then advocate for what we see. And so, yeah, that's one story. And there's so many more.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“From habitat across ten lanes of traffic, and his one image is what actually was the catalyst to create the world's largest wildlife overpass. So for people that don't think images can change the world or help and be a catalyst for positive changes, let me point you to Steve Winter's image. It is memorable. You can't forget it once you've looked at it. And it's also, I think a lot of these images push all of us as photographers to become advocates. Steve has set up a great nonprofit that advocates for big cats around the world and the struggles they face. And I think for a lot of us, you know, the truth is, as photographers, we are usually introverts. We're usually shy. We like being behind.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Oh gosh, I mean, my first example is Steve Winter's image of P22, which is a leopard that he photographed below the Hollywood sign. And this story is so incredible. He dreamed of this image ten years before he even took it. And when the problem was that he talked to the scientists all working in this landscape and they said, Steve, there's no leopard. I mean, there's no cougars in this landscape. You know, you can dream it, but there's no cougars there. And he said, you know, I'm just going to try. And he set up camera traps for over a year underneath a Hollywood sign and dreamt it, dreamt this image. And sure enough, he was right. There were cougars in this landscape. And the problem is that they were separated.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So I actually enjoy having social media because I think it's allowed me to connect with people in a really real way that I never could have connected with. There was always the media that we worked for and I could never connect with people. And now I have this one-to-one connection and people, it is individuals who have empowered me. I think visual images, by the way, have never had more reach and power than they do today. And I love, I will, you know, always love the power of what we do because I think that we can reach people both intellectually, but also with our hearts. And that is really important.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, it doesn't, at all I mean my job is to tell stories with images and not just with images. I mean my job is a storyteller. That has not changed and nothing has changed in the sense of I think we need more great storytellers, visual storytellers with all of those social media. I think people are bored with just beautiful images or, you know, like sometimes it feels like advertising and it doesn't captivate me. I look for story and image and I am just going to continue doing what I do because I think people are hungry for it. They want to know who is really going deep on stories and who they can trust. And I think that that has never gone away and it will never go away.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Both camera companies and the companies like Adobe who do post-processing manipulation are working to be able to figure out how we can create these stamps on the images to know their authentic. But I think we're in troubling times right now. And taking your question into a totally different space. I mean, I worry more about AI and what it's doing to the trust of, you know, how do we know what's real and misinformation we're entering new waters right now that are terrifying. So I think more about that than I think about the loss of film”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Honestly, it's probably better for the environment. I think about all the chemicals we dubbed into the planet. And yeah, there is a loss of like that beautiful texture in the every image was unique. But I think that there's no time in human history where as creatives, we can create anything we want. And we can, you know, from a creative perspective, we can still create unique images and create anything we imagine. At the same time, then I as a journalist with my journalists hat, I worry about authenticity and what are we going to do to make sure we have ways of identifying when images are authentic and have not been manipulated. And I think that”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, it's funny. I think a lot of people lament the loss of film, but I tell you when I began my career, the reality is I was carrying film, chemicals, a blow dryer to dry the, you know, the role of film that was hanging in my hotel room, a scanner, a huge scanner, and then I was up all night trying to transmit one to two images per night from working in these remote places. So I don't lament the loss, to be honest, because right now digital has transformed our world. We can go into the world and, you know, bring back these really important news stories from the field, transmit them faster than we ever have. And I mean, there's a whole other list of issues we have to talk about with AI. But to me, I think, you know,”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Nine months later I was there as conflict was unfolding and ended up quitting that job and becoming a war photographer without really knowing what I was doing, but I just something inside of me knew I had to go.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, I did not enjoy it at all but I did enjoy I moved to the Czech Republic in a very exciting moment in their history. I went and did a study abroad in nineteen ninety and then ended up in the Czech Republic in 1991 and that was a tremendously exciting time to be there. I knew I wanted to go back. And so in 1997 I returned to go and work for a small business newspaper. And I got to meet really interesting people, Vaclav Havel and there was this moment right after the wall had come down and it was this moment of so much hope and it was exciting, very exciting to be there. And that quickly shifted to quitting my job and covering the war in the Balkans in 1997.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Colleagues end up getting killed because you don't know when to stop and take a break because you need to be 100% present and clear about what's happening in front of you. And I think if you're so broken, you can't do that. And so in year 10, I took a break. And in that break, conservation organization approached me and asked me to do work talking about forests and how important they are. And that's also when I began my story on the Northern White Rhinos. That was the moment I began to understand that connection to the natural world and that I needed to also tell the stories about the natural world and how connected they are to all of these conflicts.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I realized it was in those moments when you want to quit that you never give up because what we do is actually very powerful and I had examples of seeing the fact that I always chose to go to tell stories that not a lot of journalists were covering. And I realized that sometimes it was getting those images back into the international dialogue. It was important. And that's when I needed to stay. But I think in year nine, you didn't want to know me. I was really depressed and not in a good place. And then I think year 10, I realized that's when I really understood that one, I needed to take a break and step away from covering the horrors of the world because I was not able to think clearly. And I think that actually that is how so many of my”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, in year nine no I was broken, and honestly I didn't know what to do in year nine. It was either, I mean, I was very depressed and didn't know whether And it was actually in those examples in year nine, I realized that I had examples when I realized the power of what we do that stopped me from quitting.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Pay attention and to focus on what do we do, it's not enough as a journalist. That was something else that made me deeply uncomfortable, which is I was asked to focus on the violence, show just one piece of the story. And never was I asked to tell the stories that acknowledge like where we go, what do we do? Where are the solutions? Are there solutions? I know there's no easy balm and no solution for so many of these problems. But the truth is, in every story I've covered, there are amazing people who are working to try to find answers, but we don't highlight their work. And I think as journalists, we have to do a better job of not just talking about the challenges we face, but like where do we go from here? What do we do? And there are people. In every single story that we need to focus on their stories as well.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“But almost always, it is the demands placed on our ecosystem that drives conflict and human suffering. And I think that that was my big shift and understanding that it was important to talk about the conflicts, but it was equally as important to talk about what we're doing to this planet because you can, I mean, just in this last year alone, how many more conflicts have started around the world? How many more coups? And I think in Africa, just this year, maybe the last six months, is it six or seven more coups? And I mean, Tyler, you know this better than I, but I see it. And I think to not acknowledge that connection is ignorant. We need to start paying attention to that. And I think we're going to see so many more conflicts if we do not.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“In these places that are so brutal where you see the worst of humanity, I also met the people, the best of humanity, that taught me so much. They kept me coming back. And I think after 10 years of that, that's when I really shifted. And I was broken and raw and wanted to quit. It was then I really began to realize this connection that, you know, I had been telling these stories about people in the human condition, but at the backdrop of every single one of them was always the natural world. And that was my profound awakening, I think, when I began to understand that in every single example, well, not every example, but in many of them, it was scarcity of basic resources like water and others a changing climate and loss of fertile land.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Is really important to take time to understand these stories that we're covering. And I think what, I mean, I ended up living in Kashmir for four years to cover the war between India and Pakistan and taking that time to listen, to truly hear people's stories. But I think what drew me in was the people I met. I mean, I am always shocked at.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Oh I think it was the extraordinary people I met, and it began because I just wanted to understand this world and why we have this so much suffering and how do these conflicts emerge. I was never one of those adrenaline junkies. I mean, so many of my friends really, you know, hopped from one conflict to the next and it was like parachute journalism. And I in the beginning started my career and I was asked to go to actually the first conflict I covered was Gaza. And then I was asked to actually know. The first was Kosovo and the Balkan conflict and then to Gaza and the second integrada. And I actually immediately understood that I could not do parachute journalism, that it”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Wildlife, and they have so much, I think, to teach all of us. I think there is this great understanding happening around the world that there's so much knowledge we as Westerners, I think, need to start listening to some of the knowledge that is right there with the people living closest to these creatures.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“They're able to make that transition. And then another piece of the story, which I love, is that all that money that was being sent outside the country to big multinational milk companies are now, that money's all stained within the community. And I went with the milk mamas is what they call them. It's the women samburu who own the goats and they set up bank accounts for the first time in their lives. They're able to send their kids to school, to have money for health care. It's absolutely changing the whole community. And the people there always tell me, it's not us saving the baby elephants. The elephants are saving us. And I just love watching all the discoveries they keep making. And they have had a long relationship over generations, you know, living with.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Story, they've made huge impacts in our understanding. And 58% of the time around the world in all elephant sanctuaries, that is the most dangerous time for orphans. They come into the sanctuary and they often can't handle that transition from drinking their own mother's milk to a powdered milk formula. And so 50% of the time they die. So Virtetti got worried during the pandemic about what would happen if we can't even get a hold of the powdered milk formula because of supply chains breaking down. So they started looking at nature for solutions and they discovered that goats eat the same brows, the same vegetation as elephants do. They started experimenting and they made perhaps one of their greatest discoveries. They went from a 50% survival rate to a 98% survival rate. So now these babies come into the sanctuary.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You know, back when I first met them, it was just a dream, and many people laughed at them and thought, there's no way you're going to be able to make an elephant sanctuary because they're expensive and you don't have the political power. You don't have the funding, but they did it. And I've been following along on their journey. And it's really extraordinary. It's called Vertetti Elephant Sanctuary. I hope anybody interested who has the means can go and visit this place because what they're doing is changing not just how people there relate to wild animals, but how they relate to each other. It's also the first elephant sanctuary that hires Indigenous women to be elephant keepers in a very patriarchal society. And it's transforming a lot. And they've, you know, they're doing things differently there. It's so interesting.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I keep learning, but I think that they teach me so much, you know, I think that it's really important to remember the communities living with the wildlife are their greatest protectors. And that is the case with the Samburu, certainly. I met them, gosh, now it's 13, 14 years ago, and they had a dream back then to protect the wildlife. That community also suffered gangs of poachers coming in and poaching the wildlife. And this was a community pushing back and saying, we need to protect the wildlife because we need them for our own survival too. And so against all odds, you know, they created the first indigenous owned elephant sanctuary in all of Africa.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“These animals, and the government is more involved in trying to support communities when elephants and rhinos and there's loss of life, loss of crops, and they're trying to actively figure out ways how do you coexist with these creatures. But I love that you brought up Kenya because honestly as foreigners, it is a place that all of us can go, our tourism dollars can make a huge impact. You know, I think as we're all in this, you know, big ecosystem and we need to figure out where we should support conservation efforts. And Kenya is one of them. Because if you take the time to figure out where your tourism dollars are going to support communities, that is going to have a huge impact on the how the communities take care of the wildlife.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Why is that? It's because the communities understood that they need these wild animals, not just for healthy ecosystems, for their own survival. They understood that, you know, that tourists need them for tourism, they need them for healthy ecosystem. So it's not that these animals are difficult. They will come in and eat farmers' crops in one day that they've spent months cultivating. These animals are dangerous. They're wild animals. They present threats to people. I think in the West we no longer understand what it means to live with wild animals. People in many places around the world understand what it is to live with wild animals. But I think Kenyans actually understand that they need to protect them.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Thing is there is community engagement in protecting these creatures. The communities living closest to the animals understand their value to them. And so during the pandemic, when the tourism stopped and so many other countries were facing poaching levels that had never been seen, for example, in South Africa during the pandemic, over 400 rhinos were poached. Guess how many rhinos were poached in Kenya?”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Oh great question, it depends who you ask, and I'm glad you brought up Kenya. I think Kenya is one of the greatest success stories right now. So they have really made this incredible shift from, you know, 20, 30 years ago, they all, all of their rhinos and elephants and so many other species were being poached to extinction. And Kenya made this big shift. So today, the greatest threat to these species is not poaching. It is actually climate change. And how did they do it? How is Kenya so different from other countries? I think it's a few things. It's greater policing, stricter laws.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“These wild animals were losing what it means to be wild. And on a philosophical level, I realize it's like a loss of wonder and the wild of who we are when we lose so many species. I'm sure all your listeners understand that we're going through the sixth mass extinction, which is purely human driven. And to me, it's like I feel like we're losing a piece of ourselves right now.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Will the rhinos that I'm working with were born in captivity, sadly, so they are used to humans. I don't recommend working with wild rhinos in the same way. And actually these rhinos know my smell. They know who I am. I've been working with them now for over 15 years. But I think the saddest part of this story is the loss of a wild. There are no more wild northern white rhinos. And I would say, you know, that to me is the biggest tragedy. I feel like when we, you know, it's not just the loss of an ecosystem, which is important in itself on this other level, I feel like we are losing something so much a part of ourselves. Like we're losing what it means to be wild. We are animals too. And when we lose all...”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“These landscapes, and literally within five, ten years you start to see the whole environment start to heal. For example, elephants like tread up that grass, they're like huge mobile composting units. The grass starts to grow, other species return. Then, you know, it'll ultimately helps human beings. So I see all of us, I think that's the main thing is like how do we start to see.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Happen in 100 years from now. I don't know if we'll see this in our lifetime. Maybe we will. But I think that there's value more for the species that are currently here. We need to help the species, these keystone species, because actually I've seen it. I've seen environments. Like I work a lot in northern Kenya. And there are landscapes where keystone species have been locally extinct for about 30 years. And you really see how it starts to impact the entire ecosystem. And then I've seen the reverse where they brought back these animals to these ecosystems. And it's amazing how resilient nature is when they give it a chance. You bring it back. We've seen examples in Yellowstone, in northern Kenya when they brought rhinos and elephants back to”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“But they are still here. For example, they're teaming up with the Northern White Rhino and the Biorescue Project, and they're going to be using their by basically adding genetic diversity back to the embryos that they've created. So the biorescue project has created 29 viable embryos that they'll use southern white rhino surrogates to restore this species. They only have two northern white rhino females alive and they're using just one female her eggs to create these embryos. They need more genetic diversity. And colossal is able to go into museum specimens and add genetic diversity. I think that they have a really important value. And whether woolly mammoths are brought back, maybe it will happen.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Churn up that soil and kind of serve in the way that bison served in the landscapes here in Montana. The same thing happened. I'll explain that a little more, that you need to keep that land healthy. And when you don't have the hooves and the animals grazing and working that landscape, it actually starts to suffer. And so you need all these animals to create a healthy ecosystem. When you take out the keystone species, the whole land starts to suffer and it trickles down to all the different species. So they're thinking is by bringing the woolly mammoth back, it's going to restore the landscape. I actually think they have a much more interesting function, which as a company, they actually are working with species that are close to extinction.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, you know, when I first heard about the story to bring back these extinct species, I thought it was a waste of money and insane. And then I actually met people from the colossal projects and I've really changed my thinking on this. I think that they, in some cases, I don't know that they'll get there in our lifetime, but they have a really good argument for the woolly mammoth. They believe that bringing species back to landscapes where they've been gone can serve in a function in the same way bringing wolves back to Yellowsoon is. So it restores the ecosystem and restores that balance that is missing. And so they believe that by bringing the woolly mammoth back, they will”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I fall in the line of no. And maybe I'm taking this in a totally different direction. But yeah, it's really complicated. And there's not one easy answer.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It depends. It depends what it's hard to make a general sweeping statement on this because in some cases I think that we do have to get involved and I think also the fact is it's humans in most cases who have really impacted the environment and we do need to get engaged and work to restore that balance but I really fall on both sides of this and I will say, you know, I do think that is in some cases what differentiates us because we, you know, as human beings like we have to kill to survive and maybe that is where this I feel like every story I work on has a different answer. And really, I don't know. It depends what the situation is. Should we bring animals back to landscapes where they have not existed for millions of years?”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source