Discovery Press Web United States

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Silver Spring, MD, March 31, 2011) - The most intriguing and isolated island in the world is home to astonishingly rare wildlife. In fact, 80 percent of the strange creatures that inhabit Madagascar aren't found anywhere else in the world. On Sunday, May 1, at 8 PM (ET/PT), viewers will get an inside look at the mysterious world of these creatures and their never-before-captured behaviors for a television audience.

With its unusual and diverse landscape, Madagascar is a place unlike any other -- covered by dry, arid lands on one coast and lush, tropical rainforests on the other.  The oldest island on Earth is home to ancient volcanoes, massive great lakes and stunning baobab trees. The real marvel of the island, however, lies in its wide array of unique creatures. With little scientific research about Madagascar's wildlife, the special will spotlight rarely seen survival instincts and unusual behaviors of the indigenous creatures.

MADAGASCAR features one of the most fascinating creatures on the island, the lemur. While 80 different types of lemurs coexist on the island, from tiny mouse lemurs to the child- sized indri, the special will showcase the ringtail lemur and its unusual technique of hunting cicada wasps. With only a short window to hunt the insects each year, viewers will witness the species' remarkable skills at work when cameras capture them snatching the insects from the air by their lighting quick wings and, in an unexpected discovery, tracking cicada wasps and digging up their buried food supplies for themselves.

Another extraordinary story will follow the dramatic life of the Labord Chameleon, a creature that spends most of its life inside an egg only to hatch and live a few weeks as an adult before dying. MADAGASCAR captures the species as baby chameleons, recently hatched and feasting on spiders, before showing them living the shortest life span of all land vertebrate as beautiful adults just weeks later.  

Other interesting species featured include the fossa - the island's largest land predator -- cannibalistic frogs and the paradise fly catcher. In addition to wildlife, the special discusses the peculiar landscapes that shape the island as well such as the Andringitra Highlands, the rainforests of Ramonafana and the remote Masoala Peninsula.

In one of the few places left on Earth, where scientists are making new animal discoveries, MADAGASCAR leaves no stone unturned in this riveting and magnificent documentary that is sure to captivate audiences with its rich information and stunning visuals.

MADAGASCAR is a BBC/Animal Planet co-production. Mike Gunton is the executive producer for the BBC.  For Animal Planet, Erin Wanner is the executive producer.  The special was reversioned for Animal Planet by Pasternak Media LLC.

Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world's only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment.  APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 97 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.

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