Nat Geo WILD keeps bringing exciting and exotic corners of the world to viewers. One week after premiering Alaska Animal Rescue, their newest series takes us to India where 1.3 billion people live in close proximity to some of the most beloved jungle animals like elephants, tigers, and leopards. Jungle Animal Rescue gives audiences an up-close look at these exotic animals and the heroes who help them recover when they’re in need of assistance.
The series introduces Wildlife SOS, an organization that works throughout the country with all manner of wildlife. In the first episode, viewers will meet the team of vets and conservationists who work tirelessly to care for these incredible creatures. I got to screen two episodes and found both to be captivating.
In the first episode I watched, Wildlife SOS received a call about a crocodile at the bottom of a 60-foot deep well. It’s not the kind of well from a fairytale, but a giant hole in the ground that includes 12-feet of murky standing water at the base. The team sets a goal to try and remove the crocodile so that it can be relocated to an area where it can be around other crocodiles in the wild. Sending men down the well to retrieve it is a perilous effort, especially when you consider that they can’t see below the surface of the water. It’s a thrilling experience watching them try to safely retrieve the prehistoric predator.
That same episode also included a report of a wounded Rhesus Macaque monkey who had been attacked by dogs. Not for the faint of heart, this segment included blood and the poor monkey had lost both hands before the rescue team was able to get to it. Later, a box of jackal pups are brought in after being found by a farmer with no mother in sight.
There was a moment of another episode that reminded me of a scene from the premiere of Alaska Animal Rescue where a bird was stuck in a tree, but this time because of kite debris from a festival. The bird was ironically called a Black Kite and without a firetruck to assist them, the vets improvise as best they can. In what seems like a theme for the series, this episode also features another animal that got stuck in a well, this time a pack of orphaned leopard cubs.
It’s easy to fall in love with the animals in Jungle Animal Rescue, but you quickly find yourself feeling connected to the vets and conservationists at Wildlife SOS. You’ll want to keep coming back each week to see more of both in this exciting series about some of the most exotic animals on the earth.
I give Jungle Animal Rescue 5 out of 5 leopard cubs.
Jungle Animal Rescue premieres Saturday, April 18th, at 10:00 pm on Nat Geo WILD.