Animal Planet September highlights

Monster week

CEBU, Philippines - Airs daily from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. from Sunday, September 8 to Saturday, September 14.

Be afraid…be very afraid! Animal Planet presents Monster Week, a week-long special featuring some of the world’s most spine-chilling legendary creatures. For two whole hours daily, Monster Week, journeys from the depths of the sea to some of the globe’s most remote locations to uncover the most enigmatic beasts to ever live, and even takes on some of mythical origins.

The recently discovered giant squid, great white sharks, man-devouring crocodiles, snakes and prehistoric fish still inhabit the Earth; but what about legendary cryptids like mermaids, Bigfoot, and blood-sucking chupacabras? Monster Week takes them all on with premieres of brand new programmes at 9:00 p.m. including Legends of the Deep: The Giant Squid, Mermaids: The New Evidence, Swimming with Monsters, amongst a host of other terrifying beasts.

Asia uncovered

Airs every Tuesday at 10:00 p.m., starting September 3. Encores every Wednesday at 4:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday at 8:00 p.m.

Travel to Asia and meet some of the region’s most amazing creatures. In Borneo, witness the forging of a unique friendship between a young boy and the endangered dugong. Over in Thailand, explore the complex bond between elephants and people. In the forests of Sri Lanka, the peak of the dry season sends an invisible trigger that causes one particular tree to unexpectedly burst into fruit – a signal for Sloth Bears, the island’s most enigmatic animal, to surface out of deep wilderness.

Swimming with monsters

Premieres every Monday at 9:00 p.m., starting September 9 as part of Monster Week. Encores on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m., Friday at 4:00 p.m., Saturday at 10:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

Wildlife expert and adventurer Steve Backshall has spent his entire life getting up close to incredible animals. Now he wants to study four ‘monstrous’ beasts – the Great White Shark, Humboldt squid, anaconda and hippopotamus – by venturing into some of nature’s most inhospitable submerged worlds and getting closer to these creatures than ever before. Steve join forces with behavioural experts and scientists in order for him to track down these beasts and do the unthinkable – swim with them to discover their true nature and challenge the myths and misconceptions surrounding them, something no scientific team has ever successfully attempted.

Lost tapes

Airs every Thursday at 10:00 p.m., starting September 12 as part of Monster Week. Encores on Saturday at 11:00 p.m.

In this day and age, stories of unclassified creatures and “things” continue to make headlines all over the world. Is there truth behind these legends or are they simply a collection of myths and modern day fairytales? From chupacabras to skin walkers, devil dragons, cave demons, bigfoot, death raptors and many more, Lost Tapes delves into the mysteries of the unknown, unsolved, and unexplained, to challenge your beliefs and skepticism. (FREEMAN)