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Hillary Clinton made a surprise appearance at the Tribeca Film Festival Saturday in New York City, where she advocated for the protection of elephants.

Clinton was part of a panel that discussed Academy Award-winning producer Katherine Bigelow’s short film, The Protectors: Walk in the Rangers Shoe, which uses virtual reality technology to highlight the plight of park rangers in Africa who protect elephants.

“Here it is, Earth Day and we are marching on behalf of science,” the 2016 presidential candidate said, acknowledging the thousands of people who marched in cities across the country Saturday in support of science, “and part of science is understanding the intricate relationships we share with all those who are on this planet, and in particular large mammals, like elephants.”

Clinton said she first became focused on”the horrific slaughter of elephants” during her tenure as Secretary of State. “”It became clear to everyone that this was not just a terrible crisis when it came to the elephant population, it was a trade, a trafficking that was funding a lot of bad folks, a lot of bad actors,” she said. “It was being used to take ivory and sell it in order to buy more weapons, and support the kind of terroristic activity that these and other groups were engaged in.”

She subsequently worked with the Clinton Foundation on advocating for the elephants and putting an end to the illegal ivory trade.

After receding from the public eye after her 2016 election loss, Clinton has made several appearances in recent months, advocating for issues ranging from environmental to increasing the number of women in public office.

Hillary Clinton Discusses Elephant Poaching at Surprise Tribeca Film Festival Appearance