Nature: Wisdom of the Wild

Sunday, August 17 at 8 p.m.

In a Tanzanian jungle, a Western scientist and a tribal medicine man follow a chimpanzee in search of new medicines. On the plains of Kenya, a woman learns a powerful lesson about family -- from orphaned elephants. And in the Florida Keys, a dolphin opens up the lines of communication with an eight-year-old boy suffering from a rare genetic illness. As humans learn more about animal intelligence, we also are discovering that animals have a lot to teach us.  Those lessons are the provocative subject of Nature: Wisdom of the Wild, airing Sunday, August 17 at 8 p.m. on WXXI-TV 21 (cable 11) and WXXI-HD (cable 1011 and DT 21.1).

From the ancient world to the modern, human lives have been influenced by animals in matters that reach far beyond our imagination. Wisdom of the Wild illustrates some of the surprising ways in which animals help teach, heal and strengthen people, in body, mind and spirit.
 
In Tanzania, for example, cameras track the progress of a researcher and a traditional healer in their quest to find new cures for diseases. In the ancient tradition of local medicine men, they follow a sick chimpanzee through the rainforest, and watch as the chimp carefully selects a particular kind of leaf to cure itself of a parasitic illness. This newfound knowledge could have profound consequences for human health, since about half the world’s population suffers from parasitic diseases.
           
A different type of intuitive wisdom is in evidence at a therapy program in Florida, where children with learning disabilities participate in various forms of therapy, with the help of some very perceptive dolphins. Remarkably, the dolphins seem to have a sixth sense about what each child needs, and will approach a child in a manner that appears to suit his individual personality.  The program observes one such therapy session for eight-year-old Thomas Carling, who suffers from a rare genetic disorder. Thomas cannot speak or communicate, yet in the company of the dolphins, the youngster is motivated and inspired to learn. 
           
Not far from where this therapy is taking place lies the Lion County Refuge.  Thirty years ago, Linda Koebner participated in an experiment -- to create a sanctuary for research chimps that were no longer needed by science. The chimps were used by scientists to develop a vaccine for hepatitis, but once the experiments were completed, the animals became expendable. The Lion County Refuge in South Florida now provides a safe place for these and other chimps in similar plights. "It's ironic that these animals can teach us so much...and yet we treat them so poorly," says Linda. 
           
A highlight of the program is the emotional reunion between Linda and the chimps she placed in the sanctuary. After 18 years apart, it is a chance to renew old relationships. But the animals that live out peaceful and serene lives in places like this are the lucky minority; hundreds more are still in laboratories, and there is no place for them to go.
           
Other segments take viewers to an orphanage for young elephants in Nairobi, where Daphne Sheldrick has been a “surrogate” mother to dozens of elephants. But in the end, it is Daphne who is taught important lessons about the true meaning of family. And on a Colorado ranch, a group of troubled boys find their lives being turned around by the bonds they form with the horses assigned to their care.

Wisdom of the Wild also explores the way humans observe and emulate the behavior of creatures both large and small.  Society owes countless inventions to the ingenuity of animals. And the animal kingdom is full of more secrets, waiting to be discovered. The possibilities are extraordinary. Could humans one day follow the lead of the salamander, and regenerate lost limbs? Will the spider's web yield a material strong enough to build better suspension cables on bridges? Or might the spider's silk one day be used to repair severed tendons? There are secrets in the wild that humans have only just begun to unlock.

For more information, visit www.pbs.org/nature.

Pictured: On the plains of Kenya, a woman learns a powerful lesson about family - from orphaned elephants.
Photo Credit: M. Martin, Argo Films