Photos of endangered animals shine on Empire State Building

A snow leopard, golden lion tamarin, and manta rays span 33 floors of the building tonight.

This Saturday, the New York landmark is unveiling a “new kind of lighting”, with the Oceanic Preservation Society projecting a looping video of endangered species onto the building to “draw attention to their rapid extinction”, according to its Facebook page. Travis Threlkel, founder of Obscura Digital, collaborated with Louie Psihoyos, acclaimed filmmaker and director of the Oscar-winning documentary “The Cove“, to create this show and elicit concern for the animals.

The Empire State building will serve as a canvas for an elaborate light show that aims to raise awareness about the plight of endangered species around the world.

The light show will reportedly cost more than $1 million and will be mostly covered by the philanthropic foundation. ― Reuters picNEW YORK, August 2 ― A giant picture of the beloved Zimbabwean lion killed by an American trophy hunter was among images projected today onto the Empire State Building in New York in a dazzling display.

Threlkel describes some of the planned progressions in the light show, which includes a sequence involving human hands that will morph into a kinetic blooming, ending with a representation of Mother Earth looking “not raging, but powerful”.

It was organized as part of a promotion for a new Discovery Channel documentary, Racing Extinction, which is set to air in December.