Hello, this is a short message from AO. We know finding the right gift can be tricky. So give the

gift of electricals this year for an extra helping of ooh. Whether you're shopping for Starbakers,

fitness fans or coffee lovers, we've something for everyone on your list and for any budget. Plus,

we'll deliver in time for Christmas. Join over 600,000 happy

customers and shop all your gifts now at a.o.com. If I asked you to guess how many animal

species are threatened with extinction right now, would you have a number in your head? Is it

hundreds? Thousands? Well, according to the

International Union for Conservation of Nature, it's about 17,800 of them. While there are a few

exceptions, almost every animal species that's on the threatened list is there because of human

activity. We're clearing land and building stuff over their habitats.

We're poaching and overhunting. Global warming is shifting temperatures and migration patterns.

I could go on and on. But instead, let's talk about how we humans are using science to help bring

some species back from the brink of extinction. For Scientific American Science quickly, this is Rachel Feldman.

To finish up our four-part series about conservation science, which we're calling the new

conservationists, we're talking about our favorite kinds of animal stories, the comebacks.

Our guide for this adventure is Ashley Papp, an animal scientist turned storyteller.

And for this episode, she'll take us to Washington, D.C., where just this past fall, two fuzzy new

VIPs arrived from China.

I'll give you a hint.

They're black and white and adorable all over.

This decades-long collaboration between researchers in the U.S. and China has quite literally

turned the tide for one charismatic species in particular.

...