This is scientific Americans 60 second science. I'm Steve Mursky.

There are a lot of misconceptions about what zoos and aquariums are today in the 21st century.

Jim Brahini, director of the Bronx Zoo,

an executive vice president and general director

of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Zoos and Aquarium. The Animal Planet channel

recently spent eight months filming in the Bronx to create The Zoo, a series that began

airing February 18th.

We created this show with Animal Planet

to kind of pull a curtain back on what happens

behind the scenes in a modern zoo.

We wanted to invite Animal Planet and its viewers to meet our animals, to meet the staff that cares for them,

and to see all the different skills, expertise, and passion really that these people bring to caring for our animals.

But more than that it goes one step further.

What we do every day is relate the animals that we have in our zoos and aquariums

and the exhibits that we have for people to see,

we relate those animals and those exhibits to the conservation struggle that's going on

with species in the wild. And we try to get people informed and involved and to help us in our mission to

save species around the world.

Five episodes of The Zoo have already aired with new episodes Saturdays at 10 p.m. Eastern.

And to catch what you may have already missed,

check out the marathon Saturday March 25th,

starting at 11 a.m. eastern.

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