Over 30,000 African elephants die each year at the hands of poachers, and despite global outcry over the killings, trafficking continues at a more accelerated rate than ever. It was widely reported in 2016 that elephants were being killed at a rate faster than they were being born.

African Parks and National Geographic sought to highlight the African elephants’ race toward extinction at the hands of ivory-seeking poachers with a deeply immersive virtual reality film.

The VR film chronicles a day in the life of a ranger in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Garamba National Park, managed by the conservation non-profit African Parks. The eight-minute piece interviews a group of Garamba National Park rangers as they discuss the trials of their profession, whack their way through 10-foot grasses and cruise by jeep and boat in service of these noble creatures.

The Protectors was shot over three weeks with a crew of just four people. With Garamba National Park as the location, very little equipment could be brought. The crew relied on a portable camera rig built from GoPros.

The premiere of the film at Tribeca Film Festival accompanied a panel about elephant poaching with Hillary Clinton as an unannounced panelist. Before Clinton and the three other panelists were interviewed, the audience donned VR headsets in their seats and watched the film.

“The Protectors: Walk in the Ranger’s Shoes” is a powerful piece of conservation media—the kind of work that drives an audience to get involved with this worthy cause. Hillary Clinton described the film as a necessary portal—“a portal that people can go into and think about,” she said. “There is a lot that can be done: Stop the killing, stop the trafficking, and stop the demand. And part of that is protecting these rangers, who are up against some of the most ruthless killers anywhere on the planet right now and doing the very best they can.” Clinton tweeted about the film and panel the following day, along with a link to make donations.

After a successful run at Tribeca Film Festival, the creators released The Protectors across various platforms including Within, YouTube and Facebook360, encouraging viewers to step inside these rangers’ shoes and experience this epidemic firsthand. The film has been viewed over one million times making it one of the most popular virtual reality experiences across the platforms.