tonight on "nightline," damage control. for the first time, the ousted president of penn state speaks out. the untold story of what he says really happened. and why he says there was no coverup. tonight, a "nightline" exclusive. an insider's story. and, help me panda. we take you to the himalayan mountains and the mystery of the red panda. did they once roam the ranges of tennessee? and if so, what happened to them? plus, move to the music. it's not just for caped crusaders. the prolific composure who created the music for "the dark knight" is now busy producing an app that scores the soundtrack to your life. >> reporter: from the global resources of abc news, with cynthia mcfadden and bill weir

in new york city, and terry moran in washington, this is "nightline," august 22nd, 2012. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. it's a scandal that rocked penn state university, brought a community to its knees, destroyed lives. jerry sandusky sits in jail now, awaiting sentencing after being convicted on 45 accounts of abusing boys over 15 years. legendary coach joe paterno died in january, his reputation tarnished. tonight, however, one of the central figures at penn state is speaking out, for the first time, about what he knew, his regrets and the report that implicated him in the coverup. penn state: an insider speaks. >> we didn't know. ill certainly didn't know. >> reporter: it was a drum beat, over and over again, a steadfast refusal by former penn state president graham spanier to concede that he failed in any

way to protect the children who were victims of abuse by long-time assistant football coach jerry sandusky. an iconic figure on campus, who was able to repeatedly molest young boys in the locker rooms of one of the nation's most respected sports programs. and in his home, where he claimed to be mentors kids who saw him as a hero. the tragedy that unfolded would transfix the nation, bring bun of the country's leading universities to the brink. and leave even the school's most ardent supporters wondering, did an institution dedicated to education really care more about its storied football team than it did about sandusky's unfortunate victims? >> this is tough on the whole family. >> reporter: the man with the answers to these questions, the president of the university, who resewn ed resigned in november of last year and has not spoken publicly about how this could have happened, until today. >> he was a child predator who fooled a lot of people. >> reporter: spanier says he

didn't note about sandusky's actions, actions that would lead to can dusky's conviction of 45 counts of sexual ail abuse of young boys. >> never in my time as president of penn state did i ever, ever once receive a report from anyone that suggested that jerry sandusky was involved in any child abuse, in any sexual abuse, in any criminal act. >> reporter: one reason he says he didn't know is because of what he wasn't told bill two of his trusted lieutenants. athletic director tim curley and senior university official gary schultz, about sandusky's actions on two occasions. the first was in 1998. >> there was an e-mail that i was copied on, one of about 30,000 e-mails a year that i didn't respond to. just a piece of information saying somebody was being interviewed. there was a followup e-mail five weeks later saying the matter

had been concluded. >> reporter: sandusky was cleared of any criminal wrong doing in that incident. but then there came a second incident, reported in 2001, when mike mcqueary witnessed what he would later testify was some sortle of intercourse between sandusky and a young boy in a locker room shower. that's now how spanier says it was described to him. >> it was described as horse play. and i said to them, are you sure that's how it was described, as horse play, or horsing around? and they said yes. >> reporter: when you hear horse play, what do you think? >> i guess i was thinking back to my own childhood, where horse play involved throwing water around, snatpping towels. i didn't ask about it. that's what i was conjuring up. >> reporter: shouldn't that have set off sirens, do you think? >> we all have the advantage now of hindsight, knowing about jerry sandusky. >> reporter: the attorney general believed it was much

more than just horse play. based in part of mcqueary's testimony, curley and schultz were later indicted. meanwhile, spanier came under suspicion because of a single e-mail which seemed to indicate that he was part of an effort to keep from reporting the incident to authorities. i want to read it to you. this approach is acceptable to me. the only down side for us is, the message isn't heard, you put quote marks around the word heard, and acted upon. and then we become vulnerable for not having reported it. the approach you outline is humane and a reasonable way to proceed. do you remember writing this e-mail? >> i don't remember it, but it sounds like me. seemed almost in light of the two things that we agreed would happen. >> reporter: you used the word vulnerable. >> it may not have been the best choice of a term. >> reporter: it peoples to t s >> reporter: it peoples to tpea idea that the impact it would have on someone or something,

other than the children. >> it was a reaction to the possibility that we didn't want this to happen and if he didn't accept that and understand it, we would be disturbed by it and perhaps need to take further action. but the message we got back was that he heard the message and was agreeable. >> reporter: for spanier, he says it's inconceivable that he would not have abouted on behalf of the victims, had he known about any sexual abuse. for he is not only a taped family therapist, he, too, is a survivor of childhood abuse himself. >> well, ooich hai've had, for four operations as an adult to correct injuries from my childhood that were inflicted by my father. but i can tell you from that personal experience that i've never met anyone who has had a

higher level of awareness about such issues than i have had. >> reporter: over his long career, spanier provided himself in running the university in what he calls the penn state way. and the football program was its heart, with joe paterno, the winningest coach in major college football history and a spotless reputation for winning clean. >> it was one of my great privileges in life to have an opportunity to work with joe paterno. >> reporter: they would find themselves out of their jobs on the same way. paterno, fired. spanier, he says, gone on his own term. do you feel like you failed those kids? >> i wish, in hindsight, that i would have known more about jerry sandusky and his terrible, terrible hidden past so that i could have intervened, if i would have known more about him, but i did not.

>> inside penn state. thanks to abc's josh elliott for that exclusive report. well, coming up, to the natural porworld. they're adorable, they are mysterious and they are on the briping of extinction. but there could be a clue to saving them. ng of extinction. but there could be a clue to saving them. ing of extinction. but there could be a clue to saving them. ning of extinction. but there could be a clue to saving them. king of extinction. but there could be a clue to saving them. boston. boise? rioril flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. dude's good. dude's real good. dudes. priority mail flat rate boxes. starting at just $5.15. only from the postal service. they claim to be complete. only centrum goes beyond. providing more than just the essential nutrients, so i'm at my best.

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from washington with terry moran. >> well, now we're going to introduce you to one of the most adorable creatures in the world. and, one of the most endangered. but why the red panda is disappearing is a mystery, with clues that stretch from tennessee to the himalayan mountains which is where abc's dan harris takes us "into the wild." >> reporter: when the children press their noses up to the glass, captivated by these

adorable exotic little red panda cubs, they are staring into the face of a mystery. why is this animal, which once roamed vast regions of the earth, now on the brink of extinction and could the answer save these creatures before they're gone forever? our search for clues took us to the other side of the world, to the small sliver of the planet where red pandas can still be found in the wild. these are the foothills of the himalayan mountains, in understood india. this city is best known for growing some of the world's finest tea. what's up, guys? what's going on? but even though this is the red panda's natural habitat, a zoo is still the best chance to see one face to face. >> it's very elusive animal. you don't see it in the wild. it's very rare. >> reporter: this is one of the most successful red panda breeding centers in the world. they teamed up a male and a

female, hoping they'll make a love connection. and maybe some day those offspring can be returned to the wild. but even if this particular matchmaking attempt is successful, zoo cooper keeperse very worried about what they call the red panda curse. they look right at you. >> yes, because of this cute-looking face and loving nature, hundreds of animals have been taken overseas. >> reporter: so they are cursed by their good looks. >> yes, yes. >> reporter: here comes one. in fact, when these animals were first discovered in the early 1800ed, a full 50 years before the giant black and white panda, by the way. they were a must-have accessory of the victorian age. yeah, urn fortunately, you can see why people would want them as a pet. as far as we know, the only place the red panda lives in the wild is here in the region around the himalayan mountains. however, recently, and for reasons that scientists do not fully understand yet, evidence of the red panda has surfaced in

a very surprising place. here, in the foothills of another mountain range, the blue ridge mountains of tennessee. >> needless to say, i was not expecting a red panda. >> reporter: stephen wallace and his team here at the gray fossil site have unearthed pot bellied rhinos, but nothing prepared them for a single tooth that was dug up several years ago. >> this is the best sample of fossil red panda anywhere. >> reporter: it's the shape and size of that tooth that lippings this 4 to 7 million-year-old red panda to the ones living a world away. >> they were much more widespread. >> reporter: wallace says the tennessee red panda was probably about the size of a mountn lion and thrived in the thick forests once found here. so, why did they disappear? one theory, raccoons moved in and started competing for the same food. >> understanding why fossil red

pandas were so much more successful and widespread than pandas today can be beneficial to protecting them and ensuring they'll be here for future generations. they're pretty curious. >> yes. >> reporter: but back in the himalayan foothills, red pandas face threats more urgent than evolution or natural selection. poachers can get a lot of money for selling red panda body parts. and in some parts of china, these tails are even considered good luck charms for wedding ceremonies. the luck of the red panda is running out fast. conversationists believe there are less than 10,000 left in the wild. which makes the match-making happening in this cage in india even more critical. as this adorable creature, haunted by its good looks, fights for its very survival. for "nightline," this is dan harris in end iindia. >> thanks for dan harris for

that. coming up, we vote the movie soundtrack for movies like "the dark knight rises." now, he's creating an app with dark knight rises." now, he's creating an app with the soundtrack for your life. totally or do it again. that's good. call in the engineers. call in the car guys. call in the nerds. build a prototype. mold it. shape it. love it. give it a starting price under 16 grand. uh-oh. the finance guys. you can't do that. [ male announcer ] kick out the finance guys. take it to the track. tweak. tweak. tweak. stop. take it to the car shows. call the critics. win some awards. making a groundbreaking car -- it's that easy. ♪ [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette you celebrate a little win. nicorette gum helps calm your cravings and makes you less irritable. quit one cigarette at a time.

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finally tonight, have you ever walked down the street and heard a tune in your head that just seemed to fit the moment? like in a movie?

well, meet the prolific academy award-winning come poor is who is hard at work at making your own personal soundtrack. here's david wright. >> reporter: the term recording pseudoowe doesn't do justice to the san ma monica space where ha hans zimmer works. there's a squat phantom of the opera" feel to this space. >> but that's about tragedy. >> reporter: this is a bat cave. working here in this studio, zimmer has composed music for more than 100 hollywood movies. including "the lion king" which won an academy award for best original score. zimmer wrote the music for "rain man," also nominated for an oscar. he even did "driving miss daisy." you are one of the very few hollywood come poe surps has reached the stature of a john williams. >> you had to go and mention two

of the most extraordinary artists. >> reporter: but your imdb is probably just about as long. >> okay, okay, so, we're talking about, you know, a mound as opposed to quality, but -- >> reporter: "gladiator?" pretty good movie. zimmer got his start in the bugles. remember them? ♪ video killed the radio star >> they pretty much created the music video. for zimmer, an excuse to make movies. >> the aim was always, how do we get to make movies? so, we managed to make a three-minute video. and we were the first video on mtv. >> reporter: batman holds a special place in his heart. >> batman was my hero. i had a costume as a kid, which lasted exactly one day at school and then everybody else was beating me out. >> reporter: he did the music for all three films in director christopher nolan's trilogy. ♪

that's like a question in that. >> reporter: the score for the second batman movie won a grammy award. with "the dark knight rises," those themes have evolved. ♪ >> change one note underneath. right? ♪ we have hope in there. >> he's wounded now. the game is, how do you describe the many facets of one character, with two notes? it's a game. playing musical chess here. >> reporter: zimmer experiments with new technology, as well. for instance -- ♪ zimmer has been experimenting with an unusual i foeniphone ap. >> just something for the fans. we could merge the real world with the music and it sort of became this experience of, you are scoring your dreams. >> reporter: the app takes cues

from your environment, your speed, direction, time of day, even the sound coming over the microphone, and mixes it with the soundscape of gotham city. i can put myself in the bat mobile and really enjoy the drive home. ♪ now, you don't even need to be in the theater to have that can dark knight" experience. i'm david wright for "nightline" in my own version of gotham city. >> david wright rises there. thank you for watching abc news. we hope you check in for "good morning america." abc's josh elliott is going to press graham spanier on the investigation and alleged cover up of abuse there. and we're always online at abcnews.com. jimmy kimmel is up next. we'll see you tomorrow.