Endangered Animals

VHS cover

Endangered Animals is the tenth episode of the second season of Amazing Animals. The plot revolves around Henry learning about endangered animals and trying to help save them. It first aired on the Disney Channel on 17th June 1997.

## Episode

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Endangered Animals.

Henry is out driving on the African savannah looking for big game. At first, the narrator thinks Henry is going to shoot a leopard, but Henry actually meant that he was planning to take its picture. After the narrator explains that leopards are endangered, Henry confuses the term with either being dangerous or in danger. The narrator tells Henry that being endangered means there aren’t many of a species left and they may soon be extinct. When Henry asks why someone doesn’t do something about it, the narrator points out it isn’t always possible to, as some animals are simply better adapted than others. He also explains that bigger animals such as elephants and whales may struggle to recover because of their slow breeding cycle. While some species become endangered because of natural events, the narrator explains that many more are threatened because of people – Henry angrily says he suspected people may have had something to do with it. There are thousands of endangered species and many are either small or little-known, with one of the few things known about the Southeast Asian babirusa is that it is endangered.

#### First cartoon

* Rooster and the Chicks are looking at a Tyrannosaurus skeleton. Rooster gets the idea to go back in his time machine and warn Tyrannosaurus about the meteorite. Rooster and Tyrannosaurus hide in a cave, with crash-helmets on, and survive the meteorite strike. When Tyrannosaurus exits the cave, he immediately falls off a newly-formed cliff and leaves Rooster sadly shaking his head.

Henry is about to spray his garden with bug-spray, but decides not to when the narrator points out that the poison will work its way up through the food chain and harm all the other animals. Henry decides to do his second hobby – boat-building. He says he has got some wood all the way from the South American rainforest. The narrator is aghast and corrects Henry when the lizard says that the rainforest has got loads of wood available. Deforestation, combined with the trees not regrowing fast enough, means many rainforest animals are being left without a home. Henry then points out that at least sea creatures are safe from burning, but the narrator points out that pollution is a big threat. Oil spills kill many marine animals, especially birds. Henry says that whales are too big to be harmed by oil, but the narrator says that they can be hurt. But what whales really face a problem with is getting entangled in fishing nets. A humpback whale is shown trapped in a net but fortunately some people come and cut it loose.

#### Second cartoon

* Rooster tries to save Tyrannosaurus again, this time by using an ark. Again, they survive the meteorite but when Tyrannosaurus copies Rooster’s jumping celebration, he puts a hole in the boat and sinks it.

The narrator reminds Henry of his special report, which is about what happened to the passenger pigeon. Henry begins by saying that hundreds of years ago there were millions of passenger pigeons, which the narrator confirms is correct. Henry then goes on to say that the passenger pigeons first worked delivering letters for the post office but were all fired when planes were invented. The pigeons then took to delivering pizzas but were all fired again when motorcycles were invented. So, the passenger pigeons decided to build spaceships and leave Earth until they found a planet with no planes or motorcycles and cornered the intergalactic pizza delivery market. They still come back to visit and make sure Earth is alright, and we mistake them for UFOs. Having concluded his report, the narrator corrects him. The passenger pigeon became extinct rather than leave Earth, because it was hunted in such enormous numbers by European settlers. It went from flocks billions strong to extinction by September 1914. A similar thing is happening to quelea in Africa today, but because quelea breed so much faster they are not endangered. Henry finds the passenger pigeon’s story sad, and the narrator points out many animals have a similar story. This leads Henry to say that extinction won’t happen anymore now that Henry’s on the case. Henry ends up surrounded by statues of extinct animals, including a great auk, dodo and woolly mammoth. For other animals time is running out, including the tiger. Henry learns how the tiger is facing many issues including the destruction of its forest habitat, loss of wild prey and hunting for its skins and bones. Unless people change their ways, the tiger may go the way of the thylacine which was hunted to extinction to protect livestock. Henry asks the narrator if extinction is forever, and the narrator confirms that it is, although some sightings of thylacines have been reported. Henry at first refers back to his report and wonders if they left on a spaceship, before claiming that he has an idea.

#### Third cartoon

* Tyrannosaurus finds two caveman Mice and chases after them. Suddenly, Rooster appears in his time machine and the Tyrannosaurus stops to investigate. Rooster explains his new plan to destroy the coming meteorite with a rocket, but the two Mice steal the rocket and use it to blow Tyrannosaurus up, leaving just a crater behind.

The narrator finds that Henry has built an ark and filled it with various endangered animals. The narrator points out that they aren’t due for a flood and that Henry isn’t an endangered animal, to which Henry points out he is one-of-a-kind, as rare as you get – the narrator expresses his relief at that. For many animals, such as brown bears, road safety is a problem with millions of different animals being killed on the roads every year. The narrator also shows Henry an example of how howler monkeys are being saved from being hit by cars, by building a special rope bridge to allow them to cross the road safely. Henry is surprised that people have helped the monkeys, as he thought people were the problem. The narrator says that, fortunately, more and more people are thinking about helping animals. Grevy’s zebras are shown being protected in a wildlife park, and the narrator also points out that endangered animals are looked after in zoos, which also allow zookeepers and scientists an opportunity to study the animals and encourage the visitors to learn more about animals.

#### Fourth cartoon

* Rooster builds a shrinking ray and travels back in his time machine. He lands next to Tyrannosaurus and shrinks the dinosaur down, before inviting him into the time machine. They leave just before the meteorite hits and travel back to the present – Tyrannosaurus is unaffected by the time travel. On getting back to the present, Rooster restores Tyrannosaurus to his original size and the dinosaur stomps on Rooster as he walks away. From inside Tyrannosaurus’ footprint, Rooster can be heard groaning in pain.

Henry now does the Golden Gecko Awards. The bronze medal goes to the howler monkey and silver medal to the tiger. The Golden Gecko Award is given to the giant panda, probably the best-known threatened species. They are dying out because pandas prefer eating bamboo to anything else, so they are threatened when the bamboo forests are cleared. They were once hunted for skins, but now people are trying to save the panda and even use its image to raise awareness of other endangered animals. Back on his ark, Henry tries teaching the leopard how to hunt. The narrator, after joking, concedes it is a good idea but for many endangered species there may not be a wild to go back to. An example of a finishing school for animals is shown with orphaned baby orangutans, which can spend up to five years in an orphanage learning how to survive in the forest. Henry is still looking after the animals in his ark, but the leopard in particular keeps eating a lot of food. After being asked by the narrator if keeping these animals is such a good idea, Henry concedes they need to be looked after by someone who knows what they are doing. The narrator closes by reminding Henry that we can all do things to help amazing endangered animals.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Lion, *Panthera leo*
* Plains zebra, *Equus quagga*
* Cheetah, *Acinonyx jubatus*
* Leopard, *Panthera pardus*
* African bush elephant, *Loxodonta africana*
* Sun beetle, *Pachnoda marginata*
* Garden snail, *Cornu aspersum*
* African giant millipede, *Archispirostreptus gigas*
* Common rough woodlouse, *Porcellio scaber*
* Tiger, *Panthera tigris*
* Green-winged macaw, *Ara chloropterus*
* Mandrill, *Mandrillus sphinx*
* Toco toucan, *Ramphastos toco*
* Humboldt penguin, *Spheniscus humboldti*
* Clown triggerfish, *Balistoides conspicillum*

### Stock footage

* American black bear, *Ursus americanus*
* Tiger, *Panthera tigris*
* Black rhinoceros, *Diceros bicornis*
* Red-bellied macaw, *Orthopsittaca manilatus*
* Asian elephant, *Elephas maximus*
* Blue whale, *Balaenoptera musculus*
* Hippopotamus, *Hippopotamus amphibius*
* California grunion, *Leuresthes tenuis*
* Cormorant, Phalacrocoracidae
* Green scarab, Scarabaeidae
* Glasswing butterfly, *Greta oto*
* Giant anteater, *Myrmecophaga tridactyla*
* Rufous sengi, *Galegeeska rufescens*
* North Sulawesi babirusa, *Babyrousa celebensis*
* White-tailed deer, *Odocoileus virginianus*
* Nine-banded armadillo, *Dasypus novemcinctus*
* Aplomado falcon, *Falco femoralis*
* Humpback whale, *Megaptera novaeangliae*
* Eurasian collared dove, *Streptopelia decaocto*
* Speckled pigeon, *Columba guinea*
* African green pigeon, *Treron calvus*
* Cape turtle dove, *Streptopelia capicola*
* Red-billed quelea, *Quelea quelea*
* Domestic water buffalo, *Bubalus bubalis*
* Emu, *Dromaius novaehollandiae*
* Koala, *Phascolarctos cinereus*
* Red kangaroo, *Osphranter rufus*
* Central bearded dragon, *Pogona vitticeps*
* Galah, *Eolophus roseicapilla*
* Thylacine, *Thylacinus cynocephalus*
* Brown bear, *Ursus arctos*
* Guatemalan black howler monkey, *Alouatta pigra*
* Plains zebra, *Equus quagga*
* Grevy’s zebra, *Equus grevyi*
* Baird’s tapir, *Tapirus bairdii*
* Central American spider monkey, *Ateles geoffroyi*
* Green iguana, *Iguana iguana*
* Keel-billed toucan, *Ramphastos sulfuratus*
* Bornean orangutan, *Pongo pygmaeus*
* Giant panda, *Ailuropoda melanoleuca*
* Leopard, *Panthera pardus*
* Thomson’s gazelle, *Eudorcas thomsonii*

## Credits

* Henry - Eric Meyers
* Narrator - Tom Clarke-Hill
* Writer - Alastair Swinnerton
* Script Editor - Jennifer Lupinacci
* Music - David Poore
* Director - Anne Neale
* Graphic Designer - Kate Beldon
* Graphic Design Assistant - Emma Rigney
* Researcher - Matt Brennan
* Production Co-ordinator - Esta Porter
* Post-Production Co-ordinator - Liz Lewin
* Production Secretary - Vivienne Mackay
* Production Team - Steve Cronick, Pauline Davis, Sam Evans and Dominic Weston
* Camera - Andy Shillabeer
* Computer Animation - Ricochet 4 and Daniel Pearson
* Computer Animation Director - Henry Lutman
* Cell Animation - A for Animation
* Cell Animation Director - Mark Taylor
* Sound Editor - Paul Fisher
* Dubbing Mixer - Andrew Wilson
* Editors
	+ Offline - Graham MacFarlane
	+ Graphics - Sue Land
	+ Online - Sharon Stiles
* Producer - Rob Harvey

## Home media releases

The VHS for Endangered Animals released on 10th November 1997. The cover shows Henry in his safari hat, with his camera and an eye cocked at the viewer. He is accompanied by a model of a blue whale, a tiger and a giant panda. Some versions of the VHS use a different tiger image and exclude the blue whale.

Neither the spine or the back cover of the VHS has an animal picture.

The blurb on the back cover of the VHS reads:

Which bird once travelled in flocks of millions? Which animal had its own bridge built to cross the road?

**“I’M ONE OF A KIND – AS RARE AS YOU GET!”**

Henry is on a rescue mission to save some amazing ENDANGERED ANIMALS, from the tiger to the howler monkey.

Endangered Animals alternative VHS cover

**Cartoon Characters**: \* Eagles • Tyrannosaurus • Rattlesnake • Tiger • Squirrel • Lizards • Elephant • Bat • Fish • Camel • Gorilla • Caveman • Mole • Bear • Stickman • Chicks • Hen • Rooster • Owl • Chameleon • Tortoise • Crocodile • Frog and Toad •
• Parrot • Porcupine • Mouse • Whale • Rhinoceros • Beavers • Snail • Rabbit • Dog • Skunk • Spider • Octopus • Vulture • Woodpecker • Flea • Dung Beetle • Butterfly • Gibbon • Fly • Mosquito • Bee • Beetles • Crab • Pigeon • Carnivorous Plant • Lamb

**Voice Actors**: Eric Meyers • Tom Clarke-Hill
**Season One**: Tropical Birds • Animal Disguises • Nighttime Animals • Animal Appetites • Animal Survivors • Animal Senses • Animal Weapons • Animal Builders • Armoured Animals • Mini-Beasts • Animal Babies • Poisonous Animals • Animal Journeys
**Season Two**: Birds of Prey • Desert Animals (Amazing Animals) • Scary Animals • Animal Records • Animal Colors • Animal Mothers • Animal Pets • Seashore Animals • Animal Families • **Endangered Animals** • An Animal Year • Prehistoric Animals • Monkeys and Apes
**Season Three**: Animal Hunters • Animal Talk • Slimy Animals • Rainforest Animals • Animal Acrobats • Underwater Animals • Animal Neighbors • Giant Animals - Creepy Crawly Animals • Farm Animals (Amazing Animals) • Animal Changes • Extinct Animals • Animal Eggs
**Season Four**: Around the World • Polar Animals • Clever Animals • Underground Animals • Animal Helpers • Woodland Animals (Amazing Animals) • Mountain Animals • Backyard Animals • Tiny Animals • Animal Partners • Scaly Animals • River Animals • Animal Flight