Tag Archives: National Geographic Wild

Snakes In The City Returns This SSSSeptember

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Siouxie Gillett, Simon Keys and Mbali Mtshali holding various snakes. (National Geographic for Disney)

National Geographic Wild’s “Snakes in the City” has maintained its status as a cherished favourite among audiences for years. The exhilarating show features herpetologists Simon Keys and Siouxsie Gillett, who respond to calls for assistance in capturing and releasing snakes from homes and buildings in and around Durban. Last season, the pair were joined by local snake wrangler Mbali Mtshali. The ninth season premiered across Africa on Sunday at 18:00 (CAT) from 3 September, and the team extended their abilities facing new snakes, in a new city, in eight new episodes.

The bustling, coastal metropolis of Durban was once a lush jungle, teeming with black mambas, spitting cobras, green mambas, huge pythons, night adders, bush snakes and boomslangs. It’s their territory and humans built a city right on top of it. Today, the jungle may be gone, but the snakes are here to stay! In the height of summer, the heat and humidity bring thousands of snakes out of hiding, into direct conflict with the 3.5 million inhabitants of this city. To the relief of those who call, Simon, Siouxsie, and Mbali, experts in animal behaviour, track down and capture some of the world’s most venomous snakes.

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Team Sayari on National Geographic Wild

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Team Sayari hosts with WildlifeDirect team

The Walt Disney Company Africa, together with its project partners USAID, the U.S. State Department and WildlifeDirect are pleased to announce that brand new episodes of Team Sayari will premiere on National Geographic Wild (DStv 182, Starsat 221) this March. Following a successful launch and enthusiastic reception, viewers can look forward to more adventures in the natural world with episodes premiering on the channel every Saturday at 13:00 (CAT) / 14:00 (EAT) from 4 March 2023.

The first of its kind, this authentic African children’s programme aims to encourage viewers to engage in conservation of Africa’s vast biodiversity and natural resources. Led by the programme’s goals to inspire curiosity, ignite positive behaviour change and nurture environmental champions, studio hosts Mysha Hodson (15), Marita Lucas (14), Shanah Manjeru (16), Railey Mwai (12) and Adarsh Nagda (14) commence each episode in the Sayari Basecamp where a gigantic tree, with a textured trunk named Funzi imparts knowledge about the environment and gives the team various challenges on which to embark.

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Snake Month Slivers Onto National Geographic Wild

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A Cape cobra fights against a yellow mongoose in the Namibian desert. (Earth Touch)

There are more than 3 000 species of snakes on the planet and they’re found everywhere except in Antarctica, Iceland, Ireland, Greenland and New Zealand. Of those, an estimated 500 species call Africa home. This March on National Geographic Wild (DStv 182, Starsat 221), Sundays are dedicated to showcasing these elusive creatures from 11:45 right through to 20:30 (CAT) every week, featuring intriguing and sometimes exhilarating snakey stories from across the world.

While snakes are feared in many societies, they help maintain a healthy ecosystem and are both predator and prey. Approximately 600 snake species are venomous, and only about 200 – seven percent – are able to kill or significantly wound a human. A new three-part series, titled Legends of Venom that will premiere as part of Snake Month, on Sunday 5, 12 and 19 March at 18:00, sheds light on various snakes: how they live, why we can’t see them, what they do to feed and breed, and how they deal with living near humans.

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What to watch on National Geographic this Summer

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Cinematographer Tom Fitz stands semi-submerged in the ocean waters of Biscayne National Park, filming the bird life and the surrounding mangrove coastline landscape. (photo credit: National Geographic/Phoebe Fitz)

Do you want to feast your eyes on some of the best programming and content that is due to arrive on screen this summer? I was one of 50 selected media to join a live stream today, to showcase National Geographic’s new slate of programmes in the coming weeks. As a surprise, we were honoured to have none other than Bear Grylls, as a special guest, who answered questions about his National Geographic show called “Running Wild With Bear Grylls: The Challenge.”

The Walt Disney Company Africa announced the upcoming content slate for both National Geographic and National Geographic Wild for Spring/Summer 2022, with channels that now broadcast in high-definition. With a promise to ignite the explorer in all of us, and with a 133-year legacy, viewers across the continent will also be able to immerse themselves in the very latest and ground-breaking storytelling in stunning high definition for the very first time, taking them further than ever before.

Featuring the best and brightest scientists, explorers, photographers and filmmakers in the world, the coming months’ content highlights offer something for everyone, as several new natural history series, feature documentaries, and programming stunts, will showcase the wonder of the natural world, take them on exhilarating adventures and illuminate historical figures who epitomize the strength and triumphs of humankind.

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