Mind-Blowing Video Gives You an Interactive 360-Degree View of Endangered Animals

There are few experiences more mind-blowing than getting right up close to a wild animal, on the animal’s own terms. For those of us who are not amongst the lucky few to experience this kind of direct encounter with a wild animal, a respectfully-filmed video can give us a taste of the experience.

The above YouTube clip, which was recently uploaded by Discovery, is now making the experience of watching endangered animals on film seem just a little bit more real! A small navigation tab in the upper lefthand corner of the video allows you to interact with the animals shown, by changing the angle from which they can be viewed. Getting to see elephants and manta rays in their natural habitat and interact with their subtle movements through this video is sure to send chills up your spine. Sadly, as the video explains, these animals are set to go extinct within our lifetimes if nothing is done to protect them.

This amazing, yet sobering video was released just ahead of Discovery’s planned showing of Racing Extinction, an incredible documentary directed by Louie Psihoyos of Oceanic Preservation Society, which aims to shine a light on the causes of the sixth mass extinction crisis in known history (spoiler alert: human actions have a lot to do with this). It will air on Discovery at 9p.m. ET/PT on December 2, so save the date! In the meantime, check out these awesome resources to learn how you can protect these endangered species today: 

• How to Change Your Consumption Habits to Benefit Endangered Species
• How You Can Stop These 4 Industries From Killing the World’s Most Endangered Species
• How You Can Help Conserve Wild Places To Save Endangered Species