a special leopard count is currently under way to do this ecologist alexander cooper has placed bacon almost $140.00 places. basically as you can see we position a base of the top of the tree and then we have a leading oh and this forces the cat to answer up the tree to the back and then we have a camera position so we can take right on side pictures of each one and they have unique fingerprint i.d.'s on the sides so we individually identify each individual . pops' seeks the advice of an ecologist to determine whether there are enough or too many of a specific species. while individual animals are killed by trophy hunters the income generated from the hunts is used to protect the remaining animals. the struggle against poachers is particularly expensive props employs $44.00 rangers to protect animals. there are also elite troops that he supports they specialize in endangered species such as rhinos. the troops are armed with heavy weapons. the rangers call it a war they've committed their lives to protecting animals rights clements lead the team. he refuses to hunt for trophies because

cooperates, it's hours away. today, saturday, may 30th, 2020. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with peter alexander, kristen welker and dylan dreyer. >>> welcome to "today" and thank you so much for joining us on this saturday morning. it is a difficult start to the weekend. of course, we're waking up after those protests overnight in cities all across the country. demonstrators out in the wake of the death of george floyd and, of course, peter, you were at the white house as some of the tensions were escalating here in d.c. >> yeah. that violence, that chaos reverberating across the country. i was in the white house, the secret service locking down the building, the campus for more than 90 minutes. we were inside. but outside you could hear the echoes of the protesters clashing with police and secret service officers. we'll have more on that this morning as well. >> we certainly will. that's the top story. the growing unrest in dozens of cities around the country as protesters took to the streets enraged by the death of george floyd in minneapolis. >> it happened in new york, atlanta, los angeles, as well as many smaller ones like

weekend has been cooperative and is not a suspect in her disappearance her family and friends set up a facebook page and asking anyone with information to speak out. craig. >> blayne alexanderda wednesday to witness firsthand the first manned space launch from u.s. soil in nearly a decade. a pair of veteran nasa astronauts scheduled to lift off from the kennedy space center but the mission is being conducted by elon musk's private spacex company the astronauts will rise a falcon 9 rocket. after reaching orbit they plan to rendezvous with the international space station. we should mention we'll have live coverage from kennedy space center this week on "today." we'll also carry that launch wednesday live here on nbc kristen. >> should be pretty remarkable a lot of people looking forward to that. well, that's the news. now it's time for the morning boost. you're getting us started, craig. >> around these parts we call it boost the clock. we'll start with the grandmother and grandfather married for nearly 60 years. they never spent much time apart. but then she had to be isolated in the hospital with coronavirus. it was the longest they had ever been separated so when grandma w