Conservation Facts

At 17 years old, an Indian man named Jadav Payeng started planting trees on a barren sandbar. At age 47, he lives in his own 1360 acre forest which now houses rhinos, tigers, deer, apes and elephants.

By peeing in the shower instead of flushing the toilet, you could save around 2,000 gallons of water per year.

Angelina Jolie bought 60,000 hectares of poacher-ravaged land in Cambodia, turned it into a wildlife reserve named after her son — and then hired the poachers themselves as its rangers. The people who were destroying the land are now the ones protecting it.

In 2014, Morgan Freeman converted his 124-acre Mississippi ranch into a bee sanctuary. He imported 26 hives from Arkansas, planted acres of clover and lavender, and became a beekeeper himself — all to fight Colony Collapse Disorder. He never wears a protective suit. The bees have never stung him.

Two young Australians bought a lion cub from Harrods for 250 guineas in 1969 and raised him in a Chelsea furniture shop. When he grew too big for city life, they released him into the wild in Kenya. A year later, they flew back to find him. They were warned he might not remember. Christian recognized them and sprinted to embrace them.

An elephant spent 12 hours submerged in a 45-foot well near Tsavo, Kenya - breathing only through his trunk like a snorkel. The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust pumped out 150,000 liters of water, drove a crane from Mombasa overnight, and lowered a vet into the pit to sedate and lift him out. 22 hours later, he walked into the bush on his own.