"'Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes ... ' Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave. It's 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the...

Text and photographs introduce the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park, one of the world's ten best zoos, and its animals and the people who care for them.

Describes how animals such as the clouded leopard, Tahitian lory, and the Mhorr gazelle have become endangered species and how scientists at the San Diego Zoo are working on projects that will protect and conserve these rare animals.

The first program observes the Red panda and Giant panda (one of the world's most endangered mammals) in their natural habitat, the bamboo forest of China's "Mountains of the Sleeping Dragon" a national panda reserve. The second program features the San Diego Zoo's challenge to successfully breed and raise a Giant Panda in captivity. Spotlighted is Hua Mei the baby panda and staff from the San Diego Zoo's Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species....

Relates the story of Basi and Yuan Yuan, two giant pandas from China who visited the San Diego Zoo as goodwill ambassadors to help Americans learn about the plight of their species.

Several short segments set to classical music, featuring various animals on exhibit at the San Diego Zoo, including gorillas, bears, hippos, birds, etc. Also includes animated segments with songs about counting and the alphabet.