Television channels related to wildlife and nature are pretty much the least-watched ones all over the world. The bickering war that goes on between the family members of a house for the remote is basically because the father wants to catch the headlines on the news channels or watch a talk show on budget and policies. Or the mother wants to see what the latest episode of her ongoing drama has unveiled, and what has the most popular chef cooked up this week. And the kids are interested in watching cartoons, funny TV commercials, and movies. Rarely anyone especially turns on the TV to know what goes on in the wildlife community of our planet.
I remember how I, as a child, would sometimes stumble upon these while flipping the channels. If there was an interesting documentary or a ferocious lion hunting his prey, I would become glued to the screen, gaping till the lion tore at the flesh of the poor deer and ripped it off, chomping and smacking. Other than that I never really watched these shows.
I can guarantee you that a lot of hard work and patience goes into videotaping these moments of nature, not to mention the guts it takes to go into the depths of a jungle with camera equipment and no connection to the human world. People who are true wildlife lovers and are brave and daring can go and deal with these beasts
Animal Planet is one such TV channel dedicated to showing the world of these wild beasts to us. This is an American pay television channel owned by Discovery Inc. It was established in October 1996 and has since then devoted to viewing documentaries on wild as well as domestic animals. The channel was a joint venture with BBC Worldwide, but since 2008, it rebranded itself and started using the logo it still uses today.
The basic ail of this television is to provide good quality shows on wildlife which are engaging and informative. These educational shows are captured and displayed with premium quality, suitable dramatic or calming background music and explanations in English related to the animal and their behavior.
Animal Planet keeps remodeling the themes of its shows and slogans according to the demand and reactions of its viewers. Its latest slogan was adapted in 2018, which is ‘keeping the childhood joy and wonder of animals alive by bringing people up close in every way.’
Let’s take a look at some of Animal Planet’s popular shows!
Crikey! It’s the Irwins
This TV show began in October 2018 and it exhibits members of the Irwin family struggling with various challenges as they tend to the animals at the Australia Zoo. The IMDb rating of this show is a mighty8.6 and only after one season! This is a reality show and each episode has the viewer holding his breath, like the one where Robert was seen wrestling with rattlesnakes in the heart of Arizona.
The Irwin sisters, Bindi and Terri are no less in bravery and seeking adventure. The episode where Bindi saves the life of a Koala and lovingly cradles it is so heart-warming.
Open your laptop and search the net to catch up on the rest of the episodes showing the adventures of the Irwin siblings.
Extinct or Alive
Since we all know the catastrophes that our Earth is facing, it is not surprising to hear that another species of wildlife is on the brink of extinction. But we might be mistaken. It may be it that animals which have been declared extinct do still exist, and to prove just that, wildlife biologist Forrest Galante has taken the mission of venturing into remote woodlands and searching for the truth. He ponders over the reasons for the animals’ demise and questions eyewitnesses about where and when they saw the last of the species.
More like the Sherlock Holmes of Wildlife, this man concludes every episode of his with either proof that the species is extinct, or that it may be surviving. Some of his best episodes include the ones where he treks through the world’s largest caves in Vietnam in search for the exotic saola species, where he is determined to find out about the reclusive Ivory-Billed Woodpecker of the Bayou, or where he unravels the mysterious attacks on recent cattle which suggests the existence of the southern Rocky Mountain Wolf in the Sierras.
River Monsters
Where ever there is man, there is a myth. Stories and folklore are common, especially when it comes to monsters in water bodies. Murky, creepy, slippery, slithery monsters in dark waters are very often inculcated in bedtime stories for little kids. Since we can’t see what’s under the water, we tend to make up stories and then, as generations come and go, believe in them and let them haunt us.
Jeremy Wade explores freshwater mysteries and local folklore, debunking most of them and sharing his mind-boggling and harrowing experiences. The show ended in 2017 but is still one of the most viewed ones, with a rating of 8.2 (IMDb).
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His show is like some very well-written horror mystery and it chills us to the spine. For example, when he heard the story of two men vanishing at a remote lake in Malaysia and unraveled a mysterious lake monster. To find out what the monster is, the whole episode is to be watched. Another time he had his viewers frozen with suspense when he dug into the mystery of the terror at a volcanic island of the pacific. Jeremy describes himself rightly as the ‘underwater detective’.
Developing interest in such shows can really inspire us into loving and caring for nature, so do spare some minutes of your TV time for this channel and similar ones!
Also Read: ‘Life’ Review: A somewhat recycled take on the human-hating Alien cliché
Aniqa Mazhar is a graduate of QAU in Biochemistry. She has taught sciences to O levels and is currently planning for her MS in Food Technology. Aniqa’s hobbies are reading, watching movies, writing, calligraphy, long walks, and nature photography.
