U.S. Military Forces are South Africa’s Latest Weapon in BATTLEGROUND: RHINO WARS, New Miniseries Debuts Sept. 12 on Animal Plan

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TORONTO (August 6, 2013) – BATTLEGROUND: RHINO WARS documents the intense conflict that centres on the worldwide commercial demand for rhino horns – an exotic commodity that’s more valuable than gold on South Africa’s black market. Premiering Thursday, September 12 at 9 p.m. ET/10 p.m. PT, the three-part miniseries reveals the conflict between blood-thirsty poachers and one of South Africa’s anti-poaching units – which has recruited American armed forces to stop the illegal, lucrative trade of rhino horns. Cameras reveal a bloody war that these elite U.S. warriors are fighting, in an area where both rhinos and people are being slaughtered with increasing regularity.

Save the Rhinos! BATTLEGROUND: RHINO WARS premieres on Sept. 12 on Animal Planet

The renowned Greater Kruger area of South Africa – just north of Johannesburg – is the new ground zero in a war to protect magnificent creatures on the edge of extinction.

Rhinoceroses are hunted to death by poachers who will stop at nothing to kill them just to take their horns. The death toll is astonishing – each year, nearly 500 rhinos are killed, with baby rhinos and calves separated from their mothers and left to fend on their own. The human toll is also steep. More than 100 park rangers have been killed by these poachers in the battle to halt these criminals…and the situation is worsening with park rangers and security forces desperate for help. U.S. Special Ops (Navy SEALs and a Green Beret) have been brought in to help the security forces. Together, they will survey the situation, train the anti-poaching corps, and exchange tactical information in an effort to defeat these ruthless criminals before rhinos are brought to total extinction.

Episode descriptions for BATTLEGROUND: RHINO WARS are as follows:

BATTLEGROUND: RHINO WARS: “Bring in the Big Guns”

Thursday, September 12 at 9 p.m. ET/10 p.m. PT

A four-man team of U.S. Special Forces Operatives arrive in South Africa one week before the “poacher’s moon,” a hotbed of poaching activity because the rhino is particularly vulnerable under the illumination of the full moon. Fighting this ticking clock, the team must absorb all the necessary bush skills and knowledge from the local anti-poaching corps.

BATTLEGROUND: RHINO WARS: “Playing with Fire”

Thursday, September 19 at 9 p.m. ET/10 p.m. PT

Although no rhinos have been killed under their watch, no poachers have been arrested either, and the team is anxious to start getting convictions. To make its greatest impact, the men hunt down illegal rhino horn across the border in Mozambique, assist on a local rhino micro-chipping, and raid a compound suspected of bushmeat poaching.

BATTLEGROUND: RHINO WARS: “Hell to Pay”

Thursday, September 26 at 9 p.m. ET/10 p.m. PT

It’s the final mission in South Africa, and the team is closing in on a group of poachers who are hunting a vulnerable rhino on a local reserve. Tracking prints through the bush leads to the poachers’ camp, where they find a crossbow and large caliber ammunition…the perfect size to take out a rhino.

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For more information:

Noah Zatzman, Animal Planet, 416.384.5903 or noah.zatzman@bellmedia.ca                              

Jodi Cook, Animal Planet, 416.384.4603 or jodi.cook@bellmedia.ca