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

“That if we as humans can really start to understand all of our suffering is the suffering of others, animals understand that. I think elephants understand that I've witnessed that with orphaned herds and how much they care for each other. I think my great hope for humanity is that we too can evolve to really understand and feel one another's suffering and joy and that to me is the only way we're going to exist in the future.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I see a value, but not all zoos are the same, not all captive animals are the same. And I think we also need to change our understanding. I think Jane Goodall and many other people have figured out that these creatures are sentient. Their intelligent life. I actually was just speaking to a woman that did research on dolphins, and she said something very interesting. Dolphins have been around for many, many millions of years, and she believes that they have evolved not just to have this heightened sense of empathy, but she believes that they actually understand that another dolphin's suffering is their own suffering. And I really, I love thinking about this. I love this idea.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“On that, but the Dwer Kralo Vizu brought Northern White Rhinos from the wild into the zoo, and if it were not for them, they would now be extinct. So I have really mixed feelings about all of this until we get a better into a better place as human beings.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Oh, wow. I mean, now we're getting into territory that honestly, I wish we didn't have to have captive animals. Ideally, we would not. I don't myself enjoy seeing animals in captivity. And I think that we've come to such a place that in order to keep species alive, The reason that some species are still here with us today are because of scientists sort of seeing into the future and a lot of great conservation efforts are happening because of zoos. I mean, let's switch this now to the case of the northern white rhinos. They would actually be extinct right now. If it were not for in the, I believe it was the 60s. I'm not sure.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's a great question. I mean, to be honest, I think it's really a symbol of our relations. And I think many people know this, but the panda was, you know, gifted in the beginning. They were gifted to countries and used as a diplomatic tool. And the first one was gifted to Nixon, I believe, in this country. I mean, I'm not a politician, so I don't know. But I get the sense that it is symbolic of what's happening between our nations. I don't know the answer to this, but I think that the Chinese own these bears, and it is their choice to do and to loan them to whatever choice.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I actually think that's a bit of a myth. You know, they were thought to be a species without a sex drive, but actually the truth is they're just very elusive animals and they do have this tiny window to breed. And when the factors in the wild are not so difficult for them, they're fine. I think a lot of it was deforestation, you know, habitat fragmentation. And that was a huge piece of the breeding in the wild. But then in captivity, they were trying to breed them for about two decades with no success. And they didn't realize these two factors, one that they have this tiny window, and two, that the females need choice to breed. So you just can't put any old male panda together with them. And once they kind of realize these two things, they have a very successful breeding program.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And now are releasing them back into the wild. And then the last important piece of it is China is one of the few countries in the world where forest coverage is actually growing, and they are reforesting areas connecting existing corridors where pandas live so that they can move, you know, when there's droughts and there's bamboo die-offs and basically giving them space to survive. probably the most essential thing we can do around the world for all of wildlife”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, it's such a great story. I mean, the truth is, I think the most important thing is that they did a great job of making the world fall in love with pandas. And more importantly, the people living closest to the pandas. Pandas were poached for a long time. And I think harsher policing, harsher laws, if you poached a panda, and then really just making the world fall in love with this creature really did a lot for panda conservation. And then there was another piece, which was they understood that the pandas were endangered in the wild. And so they did a few things. They had a breeding program because they wanted to have the number was 300 pandas in captivity in case they went extinct in the wild. And it was actually, they managed to crack the code, learn how to breed them in captivity.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“We should stay scary to the pandas. And I don't know if it worked, but I thought it was a creative idea in China's efforts to get these pandas off the endangered species list.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, the thinking was that pandas should never be comfortable around humans because humans are one of the biggest threats to most wild animals, and in this case these were captive born pandas who were being trained to go back to the wild because after one generation in captivity, they do not know how to survive in the wild. And so the lucky pandas that were chosen to be a part of this program, they didn't want them interacting with humans. And the main point about it is that these costumes, it was more, pandas go by smell, not sight. So the panda costumes were actually scented with panda urine. The thought was that they should not know that humans were around them.”
2024-02-07 · Conversations with Tyler · Ami Vitale on Photojournalism and Wildlife Conservation · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source