Mumbai: Taking yet another step in the direction to bringing to the fore incredible stories from the animal kingdom. Animal Planet is all set to premiere an incredible 10-part series ‘The Lion Kingdom’ Starting January 27, at 9 PM, which will take viewers at the forefront of India’s battle with the deadly Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) which threatened to wipe out the last of the surviving Asiatic Lions in the world living in the wilds of the Gir National Park.
Produced by film-maker Upma Bhatnagar, Executive Producer and Director, Optimum Television, The Lion Kingdom features renowned veterinary surgeon Steve Leonard as the series host.
The Lion Kingdom is a story of how the forest department of Gir National Park worked round the clock to try and save the king of the jungle while battling heavy rains and flooding and dealing with a sudden increase in the number of crocodiles in the area as a result! For the first time ever, not only will audiences get to witness the functioning of the veterinarian hospital in Gir, the only National park in India that has a full-fledged hospital for animals with the latest medical equipment, but they will also get to marvel at the transformation of Gir during the monsoons as this is the first time ever the National Park has been filmed during the rains.
“The deadly CDV virus had the potential to impact India’s pride – the Asiatic lions at The Gir National Park. The outstanding work done by our forest department to handle a crisis of this magnitude is a story which had to be shared with the world,” said, Sai Abishek, Director–Content, Factual & Lifestyle Entertainment – South Asia, Discovery. “This series is a testimony to our purpose to grow awareness about wildlife conservation and instill a sense of pride and empathy among audiences towards these incredible animals and those working to save them.”
Speaking about the series Upma Bhatnagar, Executive Producer and Director, Optimum Television said, “It was the serious most alarm not only in Gir, but in India’s entire conservation history since independence. At stake was the existence of an entire species – Asiatic lions – that does not exist anywhere else in the world. When I heard many scientists and conservationists expressing fears that the Indian lion may not be able to come out of this crisis, I was really worried. Gir is very special to me. This is where I had filmed my first TV series, The Lion Queens of India. I enjoy a special bond with the land, its people and its majestic animals. We spoke with Discovery India who sensed the gravity of the situation and gave us their full creative and logistic support to share our story with the nation.”
