Wild Chronicles

Past And Future

Season 4, Episode 9 of 12

News from Nature - In Gombe, Tanzania, experts from U.S. based Sustainable Harvest help farmers create a viable coffee crop that benefits both the local economy and a famed chimp population. By improving production processes and utilizing shade-grown coffee trees, farmers produce a more consistent and more profitable bean. In turn, the better bean results in less pressure to clear-cut the forest canopy, increasing protection for the chimp's habitat. Stories from the Wild - Levees built by farmers in rural Illinois nearly a century ago cut the Emiquon Preserve from the Illinois River, reducing wetlands to cornfields. Recent restoration work has refilled the wetlands with water and provided a home to birds, waterfowl, aquatic plants and fish. But with the levees still in place, a team of scientists examines the potential impact of reconnecting the wetlands to its lifeblood, a river now changed by invasive species and floodwater from urban development. Field Reports - Wild Chronicles follows National Geographic grantee Laura Ruykys over rocky cliffs in search of South Australia's most endangered mammal, the black-footed rock wallaby. Fewer than 100 of the wallabies remain in the wild due to hunting, introduced predators and changes in land management. Ruykys and a team of conservationists hope an accelerated breeding program that employs a more common wallaby relative as foster mom will increase black-footed wallaby populations and save the species from extinction in South Australia. Adventure and Exploration - Scientists from the Genographic Project, a landmark study seeking to trace the genetic lineage and migratory history of the human species, travel to Miami to launch the Genographic Spanish Language Kit. The results obtained from Miami's inhabitants, over half of whom are originally from Spanish-speaking countries, will help paint an increasingly detailed picture of how humans migrated across the globe over tens of thousands of years.

Previously Aired

Day
Time
Channel
7/5/2009
6:30 p.m.
7/6/2009
1:30 a.m.
7/9/2009
8:30 p.m.
7/10/2009
1:30 a.m.
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