New on Animal Planet in March:
Saba and the Rhino's SecretPremiere date: Sunday, 9 March at 20h00
Famously bad tempered and solitary, the black rhino has a daunting reputation. Its common reflex on encountering danger is to charge.
Over the last century the black rhino has been poached to the brink of extinction for its horn and today there are fewer than 3,000 remaining in the whole of Africa.
Little understood, feared and vilified, the private life of rhinos has remained an enigma - until now.
Wildlife expert Saba Douglas-Hamilton has stumbled onto a secret. Ten years ago she worked for Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) deep in the hinterland of the Skeleton Coast, in Namibia. Here, surprising numbers of black rhino have adapted to an arid lifestyle in the desert.
Well protected since the late '80s, their numbers are on the rise, but little is known about their social lives. Joining a SRT patrol along the Skeleton Coast, Saba takes on the challenge to reveal the true personality of these nomadic animals.
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Animals Like UsPremiere date: Tuesday, 11 March at 21h00
The way we see nature is changing and the differences which we thought separated us from the animal world are disappearing.
Although we are still unable to truly understand an animal’s mind, neurobiology has - in some cases - helped us shed light on the nature of animals’ emotions and desires.
Thanks to the assistance and the support of reknowned scientists and psychologists, Animals Like Us dismantles old beliefs which, under pressure from religion, culture or society, have made of mankind a separate product in the evolution of species.
Each episode is an investigation based entirely on behaviour observation.
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Monkey LifePremiere date: Monday, 17 March at 17h00
Follow the day-to-day lives of the 160 monkeys, chimps, orang-utans and other primates that live in one of the largest rescue centres in the world: the Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre in Dorset.
Filmed over the course of a year, the series explores the rescue and rehabilitation stories of some of the world’s most abused and neglected primates, and finds out how animal manager Jeremy and the keepers Emma, Paul and Mike look after their furry charges.
The series recounts the centre’s funniest and most shocking stories, alongside animal dramas of all kinds.
The show also documents the hard work of the late Jim Cronin and his wife, Alison, in their mission to stop the illegal smuggling of these animals.
Jim founded Monkey World and he and Alison built it up from a small refuge to a 65-acre wildlife park that is now home to more than 160 rescued primates and 15 different species.
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Daniel And Our CatsPremiere date: Sunday, 23 March at 20h00
Catherine, a beautiful French woman, arrived in Namibia in search of the big African cats.
In the midst of the desert she married the ‘lion man’ Daniel and lived an unusual and idyllic life in the remote Namibian hills with two leopards and a black-maned lion.
One fateful night everything she loved was snatched away from her: Daniel was imprisoned and the cats were taken to a secret location.
When Daniel was released, they started a new life in South Africa with a baby lion cub, whilst still battling for their other cats.
Then tragedy hit them all. Catherine tells us her personal true story of love, loss and healing.
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