DODO HEROES will feature inspiring stories of animals in need from around the world, and the compassionate humans who go to unimaginable lengths to give them hope. With each episode focusing on one inspiring and moving story of people who go to any lengths to help animals, the series will explore the personalities and emotions of both humans and animals, while highlighting their unique connection. DODO HEROES marks Animal Planet’s first-ever global series launch which will premiere on Saturday, June 9 at 9PM ET/PT in the U.S. and in over 220 countries and territories worldwide.
DODO HEROES episodes will include:
Derrick’s Elephant Challenge
Derrick Campana runs Animal OrthoCare and is one of only a handful of people in the world who specialize in designing prosthetics and orthotic braces for animals. Jabu, a 30-year-old bull elephant living in Botswana, has a life-threatening leg injury. His caretakers, Doug and Sandi Groves who run Living with Elephants Foundation, have reached out to Derrick in the hopes that he can help. Chi Chi is a quadriplegic dog rescued from the meat trade in South Korean who now lives with her loving owners in Phoenix. After having all four of her legs amputated, Derrick built four prosthetic legs so Chi Chi can walk and run again. Derrick meets with Chi Chi to adjust her prosthetics and check her progress before flying to Botswana to fit Jabu with the world’s first elephant orthotic leg brace – which he hopes can save his life.
Izzy the Koala Whisperer
Crikey the koala was just a baby when he was found all alone and very sick on Australia’s Magnetic Island. But luckily for Crikey there’s a remarkable family there who spend their time rescuing koalas and rehabilitating them in their home so that they can eventually go back to the wild. Ali Bee, a veterinarian with Magnetic Island Koala Hospital, and her family are fighting to save Australia’s rapidly declining koala population. And she, her husband Tim, and their 10-year-old daughter Izzy, took Crikey in a year ago. Izzy became Crikey’s surrogate mother and helped nurse him back to health. Now, the Bee family is preparing for the emotionally difficult but important and inspiring task of releasing Crickey back to his natural habitat. Saying goodbye won’t be easy, for both Izzy and Crikey.
Pen and the Dogs of War
Sebastian Fluieras, a U.S. soldier deployed in Afghanistan, finds a litter of six puppies and wants to rescue them – but it’s against military rules for him to care for them on the base. Sebastian turns to British Marine Pen Farthing and his girlfriend Hannah Surowinski for help. Pen and Hannah run Nowzad, Afghanistan’s first and only official animal sanctuary which houses over 150 animals rescued from the streets of Kabul. Pen and Hannah’s goal is to rescue and transport the puppies from Afghanistan to Texas, where they’ll be reunited with the U.S. soldier who saved them.
Jan and Tim’s Greatest Show on Earth
Pepe the spider monkey has lived his entire life on a short chain in a Peruvian circus. At the same circus, six lions, including a female lion named Kiara and her two cubs, are kept in cages and forced to perform. Animal Defenders International (ADI), led by Jan Creamer and Tim Phillips, arrives in Peru to rescue the animals. Their organization has already helped ban the animal circus industry in over 40 countries – and they are determined for Pepe, Kiara and her cubs to live a life free of chains and cages.
Katherine’s Big Animal Eden
Katherine Connor and her five children run and live within a one-of-a-kind elephant sanctuary, Boon Lott Elephant Sanctuary, which rescues and rehabilitates elephants from Thailand’s tourism and logging industries. Katherine’s latest project is to rescue the majestic Pang Fai, an elephant who has spent her lifetime logging and in chains. She desperately wants to retire Pang Fai and bring her live out her life with other elephants and her family at the sanctuary, but her owner depends on Pang Fai for income and isn’t sure that he’s willing to give her up.
Estelle’s Favorite Chimp
Ponso lives alone on an island in the Ivory Coast and has been dubbed the loneliest chimp in the world. In 2015, chimpanzee expert Estelle Raballand met Ponso and the two now share an incredible bond. Estelle’s long-term goal is to set up a chimp sanctuary in the Ivory Coast where Ponso and other chimps can live freely with each other – but in the meantime, she’s determined to find a companion for Ponso. Estelle thinks Nikla, a chimp recently rescued, might be the perfect match.
DODO HEROES is a Nomadica Films production produced for Animal Planet. For Nomadica Films, Jared McGilliard and John Collin are executive producers. For The Dodo Izzie Lerer is executive producer and Yujung Kim, Joanna Zelman, Matt Pickar and Hayley Lozitsky are producers. For Animal Planet, Keith Hoffman is executive producer and Sarah Russell is producer.
About Animal Planet:
Animal Planet, a multi-media business unit of Discovery Inc., is the network of hit franchise series and special programming dedicated to animals and the natural world that includes RIVER MONSTERS, DR. JEFF: ROCKY MOUNTAIN VET, PIT BULLS & PAROLEES, TANKED, TREEHOUSE MASTERS, THE VET LIFE, THE ZOOand PUPPY BOWL, the largest non-sports TV event on Super Bowl Sunday. Animal Planet is the premiere TV, digital and social community for all things animal, providing immersive, engaging, high-quality content across all Animal Planet platforms including: Animal Planet television network, available in more than 90 million homes in the U.S., that is complimented with a deep Video On Demand offering; online assets
www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for animal lovers and pet owners; the Animal Planet Go app that allows viewers to catch up on full episodes of their favorite shows anytime anywhere; Animal Planet L!VE, the go-to digital destination for round-the-clock, unfiltered access via live cameras around the globe in a variety of animal habitats; Animal Planet Social including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram via @AnimalPlanet.
About The Dodo:
The Dodo is the number one digital media brand for animal people with over two billion monthly digital views and the number one media show on Facebook Watch. The Dodo is a mission-driven publisher — we tell stories that connect people to animals and empower people to help animals in need. We’re committed to looking at the world through animals’ eyes and engaging our audience through a combination of entertaining, uplifting, meaningful content that inspires people and helps pave the way for progress. The Dodo is part of Group Nine Media — a top 10 global publisher.
About Group Nine Media:
Group Nine Media is one of the world’s largest digital-first media companies, boasting over 5B monthly video views and reaching 80% of U.S. adults in their 20s. With nearly 40M viewers each day, the brands have become a daily habit for young people. Group Nine is home to NowThis (the no. 1 most-viewed social news publisher in the world), The Dodo (the no. 1 animal brand on social), Thrillist (the most trusted digital brand in food, drink, travel & entertainment) and Seeker (the no.1 most-engaged science brand on Facebook). Group Nine recently acquired Emmy nominated, Cannes Lion and Sundance Film Festival award-winning production studio, JASH.
About Discovery:
Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is a global leader in real life entertainment, serving a passionate audience of superfans around the world with content that inspires, informs and entertains. Discovery delivers over 8,000 hours of original programming each year and has category leadership across deeply loved content genres around the world. Available in 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Discovery is a platform innovator, reaching viewers on all screens, including TV Everywhere products such as the GO portfolio of apps and Discovery Kids Play; direct-to-consumer streaming services such as Eurosport Player and Motor Trend OnDemand; and digital-first and social content from Group Nine Media. Discovery’s portfolio of premium brands includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, Turbo/Velocity, Animal Planet, and Science Channel, as well as OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network in the U.S., Discovery Kids in Latin America, and Eurosport, the leading provider of locally relevant, premium sports and Home of the Olympic Games across Europe. For more information, please visit
www.corporate.discovery.com and follow @DiscoveryIncTV across social platforms.
