The United Nations’ official video for the World Wildlife Day 2018 that promotes the protection of big cats has gone viral. The one-minute fifty-seconds video mirrors the theme of this year’s celebration, “Big Cats: Predators Under Threat”.
The World Wildlife Day is celebrated each year on March 3 – the original signing date of the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The video shows stunning footage of lions, jaguars, snow leopards, tigers and other cat species in stunning wild landscapes across Africa, Latin America, and Asia as well as the efforts to save these majestic species on the ground.
Cristian Samper, President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation, said: “The threats facing big cat species found across the globe must be curtailed with strategic and coordinated efforts. The focus on big cats this World Wildlife Day will help raise awareness and spark support for actions to save these majestic species including, lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, snow leopards and others. We are honored to partner with the United Nations with the release of the World Wildlife Day official video that highlights just how important these species are to what makes our planet astounding and wonderful.”
John E. Scanlon, Secretary-General of CITES, said: “The majestic big cats inspire us with their beauty, their speed, their strength, and their raw energy. But big cats face many threats to their survival in the wild. People have caused these threats to our big cats and people can also choose to resolve them. A crisis can still be averted, if we take action now! As the official facilitator for the global celebration of World Wildlife Day, we are most grateful to WCS for the generous support in the production of this powerful video.”
The UN has translated the video into Chinese, French and Spanish. People around the world have offered to translate it into other non-UN languages.
This Public Service Announcement video (PSA) was widely shared on social media in the run-up to World Wildlife Day. Actor and environmentalist, Leonardo DiCarprio, shared it on his Twitter account. Some TV stations and airlines offered to show it on TV and inflight entertainment system. This is the first time a World Wildlife Day PSA has reached such a wide global audience, says the UN.
Video Credits
The video was written, produced, and edited by World Conservation Society (WCS) Executive Producer, Natalie Cash. WCS Staff Videographer, Jeff Morey, provided motion graphics. Footage came from International Fund for Animal Welfare, Panthera, Biggest and Baddest series, Gryphon Productions, and Shutterstock.
