ORANGUTAN ISLAND | ALMOST HUMAN | SAVING A SPECIES

• Orangutan Island
• Almost Human
• Saving a Species

Three Fascinating New Shows About Our Closest Living Relatives

The Great Apes are our closest living relatives. Animal Planet is offering three very special programs which highlight these stunning animals and their current plight. These programs are:

SAVING A SPECIES: GORILLAS ON THE BRINK, Friday, October 26, 9-10 PM (ET/PT)

Golden Globe winner and Oscar®-nominated actress Natalie Portman and animal icon Jack Hanna join forces to spotlight the plight of the gorillas in an international effort to bring attention to their dire crisis. SAVING A SPECIES: GORILLAS ON THE BRINK is an intimate journey through the mysterious and fragile lives of these critically endangered primates. Hanna, television personality and director, emeritus, of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, was Portman’s guide during this once-in-a-lifetime trek. With less than 700 gorillas left in the wild, the documentary shows how the government and people of Rwanda are desperately fighting to keep this revered population from diminishing even further.

ALMOST HUMAN WITH JANE GOODALL, Sunday, October 28, 8-9 PM (ET/PT)

For nearly a quarter of a century the chimps of Gombe National Park have been studied by Jane Goodall and also filmed by cameraman Bill Wallauer. Seeing the chimps through their eyes we begin to understand just how similar to humans these great apes are. ALMOST HUMAN, WITH JANE GOODALL will give the audience a compelling new view of these animals and take us on an emotional journey of understanding. We meet Jane and Bill as they arrive in Gombe to locate one of their favorite chimps, Gaia. She has recently lost her second child and they are both deeply concerned for her welfare. Will Jane and Bill be able to find Gaia, and if so, will she have recovered from the loss of her second baby? With Jane and Bill as our personal guides, ALMOST HUMAN, WITH JANE GOODALL will, for the first time, fully explore the psyche of wild chimpanzees and visualize the kind of emotions and feelings that most people believe are uniquely human. Using never before seen footage from the Jane Goodall Library, shot on location in Gombe National Park by Bill Wallauer, the audience will witness how chimps craft tools to fish for termites, the explosive displays of a male chimp doing a waterfall dance, the temper tantrums of a youngster from sibling rivalry, and the tender moments that occur between a mother and her child.

ORANGUTAN ISLAND, Friday, November 2, 9-9:30 PM (ET/PT)

Welcome to Orangutan Island, a new kind of reality series where sack clothes are the latest fashion accessory, bad-hair days are the norm and food fights are just a part of everyday life. For a group of orphaned orangutans, a river island sanctuary in the midst of Borneo is more than just a new home to cut loose without parental supervision; it could be the last hope for survival of their species. With Indonesia’s wilderness rapidly disappearing around them, their human rescuers have had no place for them but here. Now a loner, a lover, a bully, a prankster and a hero must overcome personal differences, battle invaders from a nearby island and survive the fury of Mother Nature to form a model community for future generations of orphans to follow. Endearing and inquisitive, ORANGUTAN ISLAND follows this charismatic group as they struggle to form their own society and learn how to live free.