Coral reefs cover less than 1% of the ocean floor but support 25% of all marine life, and since the 1950s, we've lost half of them.

In this episode, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant sits down with Philippe Cousteau, grandson of Jacques Cousteau and founder of EarthEcho International, to unpack why reef collapse has stayed the "most underreported environmental crisis on the planet." Philippe explains the science of coral bleaching, the technology that can grow coral 20 times faster than nature. That's why he now treats reefs not as ecosystems to protect but as infrastructure to rebuild, at a scale philanthropy alone can never fund. It's a hard look at how close we are to losing reefs entirely, and a genuinely hopeful blueprint for turning that around.

Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild airs weekends on NBC's "The More You Know" programming block. Co-hosts Peter Gros and Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant share conservation success stories happening all around us. They take us to wild places as we meet incredible species and the amazing people working to save them. Check your local listings for the airtime in your area. For more information on Protecting the Wild including how to stream full episodes for free, check here: https://wildkingdom.co/4cPq9wS

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