Catch 'Austin Stevens Adventures' on Animal Planet

Media News

New Delhi, April 21, 2009

Renowned wildlife photographer, herpetologist and wilderness expert Austin Stevens has had many extraordinary experiences with the fascinating reptiles on the planet. Popularly known as the Snakemaster, Austin has been tackling snakes for over 20 years now, but now, he is on a challenging mission to explore and photograph some of the deadliest animals through toughest terrains in Animal Planet’s new series Austin Stevens Adventures.

Austin is determined to experience some strange and ferocious animals which he has just heard of, like surfing hippos in a remote West African archipelago, monastery-loving wolves in central Brazil, spirit sharks in the Solomon Seas and high voltage fish in the heart of the Amazon. Witnesses him explore the wide and amazing fauna of various landscapes across the globe in Austin Stevens Adventures, to premiere on Animal Planet every Sunday at 9 pm, starting April 26th.

Austin teams up with the locals who’ve lived with these dangerous animals all their lives and learns the key to survival in such situations. Narrating the stories of hidden tribes and their secret relationship with the natural world that has enabled them to live alongside each other throughout their lives, Austin gets trained in their ways to help him capture these extraordinary animal encounters resulting in timeless master-pieces on his camera. But will it be enough to guarantee his safety as he pushes his limits and his luck to get the ultimate close encounter?

"Drawing on the remarkable success of his previous series, Animal Planet brings Austin Stevens Adventures encompassing Austin’s passion for photography, his tongue-in-cheek humour and the high drama that only he can deliver. The series will give viewers a unique and heart-pounding experience with incredible wildlife,"said Rajiv Bakshi, Director, Marketing & Communications, India, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific.

Austin travels to an eclectic mix of locations - Canada, Ethiopia, Swaziland, Sri Lanka, Africa and more, for wild encounters with ferocious animals like grizzly bear, neotropical rattlesnake, white rhinos, rock pythons and African lions. During this expedition, Austin ventures into one of the world's last wildernesses, "The Great Bear Rainforest" in western Canada in search of the park's most dangerous inhabitant - The Grizzly Bear. He travels to the Yucatan peninsula to track the elusive Neotropical rattlesnake, the only snake on the planet that snakemaster Austin hasn’t encountered face to face. The series also witnesses him venturing into the heart of the Awash and the villages of the Afar people who share their knowledge and legends of the spotted hyena. In search of one of the most efficient hunters on the planet - the leopard, Austin journeys deep into the Kruger Canyons Biosphere. He also explores the small island of Sri Lanka in search of one of Asia's largest populations of the Asian Elephant and ventures into the depths of the Amazon rainforest to find the only mammal that feeds entirely on blood - the vampire bat.

For further information, please contact:

Hanmer MS&L

Alpana Bhatia

Tel: +91 9818424361

Email:alpana@hanmermsl.com