Welcome to Season 3 of Amazing Wildlife! Hosts Rick and Marco are joined by a returning friend of the show, Kim Gray, the curator of herpetology and ichthyology (reptiles, amphibians, and fish) at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Oftentimes, people have some fears around snakes, but Kim shares the misconceptions about the king cobra, who is the top predator in their environment. So, if we can conserve their habitat, we can save a lot of species! Our hosts and Kim share a story with a positive ending about San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance saving king cobras from wildlife trafficking and explain why it's an important element for conservation.

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Amazing Wildlife is returning for season 3 starting Friday March 15! From the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, hosts Marco Wendt and Rick Schwartz will spotlight the heroes working worldwide to care for the species we know and love. 

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In the season finale, Rick and Marco take a trip to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park Biodiversity Reserve to speak with Charlie de la Rosa, Ph.D., natural lands manager for San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. This 900-acre preserve in San Diego's North County supports large expanses of coastal sage scrub vegetation along two regionally important wildlife corridors. Here, in the most biodiverse county in the continental United States, we take a look at the importance of native plants including the prickly pear cactus, and Charlie gives us insight on technology used to study the movement of mountain lions and other wildlife. We also discuss how conservation is all about people, our connections to one another, and to the delicately balanced ecosystems that we all share.

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Amazing Wildlife spotlights the only native aquatic turtle species in California, the Pacific pond turtle. Rick and Marco are joined by Kim Gray, curator of herpetology and ichthyology at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, to find out why protecting and conserving these turtles will help our ecosystems as well. You’ll hear why this species is also called the Western pond turtle, learn about the riparian zone of an ecosystem, and discover a special program that helps these camouflage experts grow, so they can avoid being preyed upon by invasive species.

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 Amazing Wildlife is on grounds at the San Diego Zoo to highlight the polar opposite of the polar bear—the penguin! (Fun fact: they don’t live together, despite what you may see on TV or in cartoons). While many species of penguins do spend time around Antarctica, Rick and Marco discuss the different types of penguins that do not. Discover how penguins’ bodies have adapted to survive in cold temperatures, and what makes a penguin’s beak different from that of a hawk, a flamingo, or a parrot. We’ll find out about African penguin conservation, and how zoos have worked together to solve nesting problems—plus, what you can do at home to help penguin conservation!

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For the first time this season, Amazing Wildlife highlights the Oceans hub, with a “deep dive” into the icy waters of the Arctic to look at polar bears! Rick and Marco are joined by Kelly Murphy, lead wildlife care specialist for the Polar Plunge habitat at the San Diego Zoo. Kelly introduces us to the three polar bears at Polar Plunge—Chinook, Kalluk, and Tatqiq—and explains the reasoning behind their names, which are from the Inuit language. We discover why polar bears are considered a marine mammal, and how they thrive at the San Diego Zoo. We’ll also hear how Chinook, Kalluk, and Tatqiq have helped scientists better understand polar bears and the different ways climate change poses a threat to their existence—and what we can do to help.

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Amazing Wildlife is spotlighting the Australian Forest Conservation Hub by highlighting a favorite tree-dwelling marsupial: the koala! Rick and Marco are joined by Jen Tobey, a researcher at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, who explains why marsupials are raised in a pouch—and the truth about why koalas sleep so much. The San Diego Zoo has the largest breeding colony of koalas outside of Australia, and Jen shares details about two field researchers in Queensland and the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, working with the Alliance in koala conservation. The hosts and Jen also discuss the challenges and successes the Alliance is having in reintroducing koalas to lands they once inhabited.

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Amazing Wildlife focuses on the Southwest Conservation Hub to take a closer look at the burrowing owl, found in San Diego County—one of the most biologically diverse counties in the United States. Marco attempts to mimic the sound of this unique bird that is about the size of a stick of butter! Rick and Marco chat with Colleen Wisinski, conservation program manager of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s burrowing owl recovery program, who shares how these active-in-daylight owls differ from nocturnal owls, and how they confuse potential predators. Colleen details her work with western burrowing owls, as we find out how they got their name and the importance of burrows. Finally, we get the inside scoop on the Wildwatch Burrowing Owl program, which is a way you can get involved in helping these birds!

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It’s World Rhino Day (September 22)! For this special day to raise awareness about rhino conservation, Amazing Wildlife is joined by Gavin Livingston, the curator of mammals at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Rick and Marco discuss the five different species of rhinos and offer some interesting facts about their hair color—and how much their head weighs (hint: it’s three times the size of something in your kitchen!) Gavin gives insight into rhino conservation science at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, as well as threats to rhinos in their native habitats, and why they are vital to their ecosystems. We also learn the importance of diversity in rhino conservation, in addition to Gavin’s predictions for conservation’s future.

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Join us, as Amazing Wildlife gets ready to celebrate International Vulture Awareness Day (September 2). Rick and Marco visit Jenna Stallard, wildlife care manager of birds at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. We’ll learn about Old World vultures (from Europe, Africa, and Asia) and New World vultures (from the Americas and the Caribbean), in addition to what makes vultures unique, and why they are vital to their ecosystems. The hosts and Jenna debunk myths about vultures—who have great personalities, despite popular belief. We also find out more about vulture breeding at the Safari Park, the threats to vultures—including poisoning—and how Egyptian vultures are surprisingly skilled at using tools.

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