It's a week long festival on Animal Planet

Have you heard of Bruce George, Lyndal Davies, Mike Penman, Mark Tennant, Annemarie Lucas and Austin Stevens?

Well, probably not.

For the uninitiated, they are famous wildlife filmmakers and all of them are making their debut on Animal Planet. They will excite the Indian audience for a week with some of their best wildlife adventure films.

Premiering on August 23 is Mike Penman and Mark Tennant's show - The Predator's Ball. An Animal Planet release says, these seasoned African safari filmmakers aren't satisfied with the view of hunting lions or squabbling hyenas from their jeep. They want a close-up shot and will do whatever it takes to get it.

In this show, Mad Mike & Mark (as they are popularly known as) travel to Africa's biggest smorgasbord, the stunning migration of the Serengeti, where they are faced with a life-and-death situation. Caught between one-and-a-half million wild beaste and zebra who gather to give birth, along with the greatest collection of predators in Africa, the duo have filmed some exciting and breathtaking shots.

Annemarie Lucas saves animals in a different kind of jungle - the big city streets of New York City. These are not endangered species, but precious pets from abusive owners. In the show, Animal Precinct, she investigates some of the thousands of crimes against animals that are reported to the Humane Law Enforcement Department each year, from horse neglect to illegal dog fighting rings and experiences the lows of seeing an animal in need and the highs of busting a perpetrator.

On Tuesday, August 23, special investigator Annemarie Lucas follows up on a report that a dog has been starved to death at a house on Staten Island, New York. With her partner, Joann Sandano who is a special agent at the Humane Law Enforcement Department, Lucas sets out to uncover exactly what has happened and to make sure that willful neglect does not go unpunished.

Wednesday is time for some snake lovers who can watch the Snake Buster

Bruce George separate fact from fiction and discover the truth about the most deadly snakes. He also rescues deadly snakes from their favourite hiding spots - homes and gardens.

On August 24, George, flies to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the far north of Australia, one of the world's last true wilderness areas where he meets up with Bryan Fry, the Australian sea snake expert. And, together they survey as many sea snakes as they can, as well as catch two of the most deadly snakes.

George also travels to Northern Queensland, the state that boasts the most deadly snakes in Australia to find the Taipan, the world's deadliest snake.

Tattooed and calloused, George looks more like a Harley Davidson biker than a scientific reptile researcher. Licensed by the Department of Conservation and Land Management of Australia, Bruce is one of the few people in the country who enjoys removing snakes from domestic situations.

Seven Deadly Strikes is the another show for snake lovers, which will premiere on Thursday, August 26. In this show, photographer, adventurer, herpetologist, Austin Stevens is on a mission to find, catch and shoot Africa's seven most feared snakes.

Stevens shows viewers just what it takes to capture deadly snakes like Rinkhals (ring-necked cobra), the most dangerous spitting snake in Africa; the black mamba and puff adder, the second largest of the dangerous vipers.

Davies gave up her career as a television news reporter to cover stories in the wild. From Brisbane, Australia and Sierra Leone to West Africa, viewers can follow Lyndal's Lifeline as she saves animals in peril.

In the show, Lyndal's Lifeline: Koala Crisis, which premieres on August 27, this Australian filmmaker and naturalist is headed for her hometown, Brisbane and the Koala Hospital - where as many as 15 koalas are admitted every day to the hospital - mostly victims of road accidents or dog attacks. She makes an effort to get them back to the wild. She also visits Kangaroo Island in South Australia to see giant koalas.

So, this would be an exciting week for all animal lovers on Animal Planet. The channel keeps its fingers crossed, hoping for a larger viewership as well.

Aditya Tripathi, marketing director, Discovery Communications India says, ""Animal Planet has created several famous television personalities like Steve Irwin - the Croc Hunter and Jeff Corwin. The six new faces on the channel promise to be just as entertaining. And, each of them is an animal expert in their own right." © 2004 agencyfaqs!