The Emmy-nominated series, Mutual Of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting The Wild, airs on NBC. Co-host Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, a wildlife ecologist, bestselling author, and the first Black woman to host an original wildlife series, brings a fresh perspective, groundbreaking science, and insightful fieldwork to the legendary show each week. In an exclusive interview, Dr. Rae shares her insights into what makes the show special to her and its significance to others.
Romeo International
What mad you want to go play with lions, tigers and bears?
Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant
So I grew up real urban. I grew up inner city of San Francisco, a pretty typical black family, and I say typical in that, like, we did not go hiking or camping in our free time. My exposure to these animals, the lions and tigers and bears was through nature shows. So as a kid, I loved watching nature shows. I just sit at my grandparents’ house, I put nature shows on, including Wild Kingdom. And I watched them, and I loved them. For the first 20 years of my life, all my exposure to wild animals was either at the zoo or on TV. For the first 20 years of my life, all my exposure to wild animals was either at the zoo or on TV. So I always tell people, like, I didn’t go outside till I was 20. It’s not like I, like, saw this on TV and then, like, ran out. No, I was in the middle of college. I was 20 years old when I saw my 1st wild animal and when I put on my 1st pair of hiking boots and started his career. So it’s not that anyone told me to do this. It was like it chose me. Like, this life chose me. I have always, from my earliest memories, wanted to be out protecting wild animals. And it’s what I do, and I think I’ll probably do it for, like, the next 50 years. I will never quit.
Romeo International
The importance of culture and nature in the show. How are those two things unified when it comes to you?
Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant
This is a good question. And what comes to mind for me is that, you know, I say, like, I was 20 years old when I got outside for the 1st time, that wasn’t actually in the United States. So I was in college, and I decided to study abroad in southern Kenya. So I saw my first wild animals in Africa. It was elephants and giraffes, and lions, and zebras, and warthogs, and wildebeests, and hippos, and rhinos, and all of those iconic African animals. And I’m so grateful that my, you know, I started living there. I started living in East Africa after that. And I was so grateful that that was my 1st actual exposure to wild animals because it was also with black folks, right? It wasn’t like African Americans, but it was like black professional scientists, Africans, who were teaching me about wild animals. So, for me, for my first exposure, it was very much, like, we are black, we are experts. We have lived with wild animals for millennia, and we know about their movements. We’ve been coexisting, and we protect them. That’s really special, because we don’t see that in all parts of the world. And we certainly don’t see it here in the United States. Like, here, I can say, like, I’m the first black woman to, you know, co host a wildlife show. If you go to the motherland, you know, like, it’s not even about the representation on TV because they have the representation in real life. So, when it comes to this show, Mute to Omaha’s Wild Kingdom protecting the wild. I want people to watch it so that they fall in love with nature and wild animals. I also want people to watch it so that they see it’s not just one type of person who does wildlife conservation, right? Like, I love that I’m a millennial black woman, you know, from an urban environment, from an upbringing that didn’t include going to national parks and stuff. Who is now an expert and can deliver this information. I really, really hope it opens people’s minds and hearts and gets a lot of people involved.
Tune In: Season 3 of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild premieres October 4th on NBC (check local listings)
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