One of the most exciting parts of Channel 9’s primetime schedule is the presence of several Natural History New Zealand series.

Supplied by the Dunedin-based company to support the station, Many of the award-winning programmes are unable to be seen elsewhere in New Zealand at present, to the dismay of fans of high-quality documentaries.

Well-watched, as survey figures have proved, Dunedin Television boasts not only older shows such as Wild South, but newer series such as Wild Asia, Twisted Tales and Animal Cannibals.

NHNZ chief executive Michael Stedman, who was the chair of the the Dunedin Television board during its establishment, says the company is delighted to contribute to the success of the station by providing programming.

And what a delight the programmes are! Twisted Tales, one previous episode of which won film-maker Ian McGee an Emmy at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awards, is “an unnatural history”. It is a journey across time and space, following the evolution of our relationship with animals through different ages and different cultures.

Each programme concentrates on a different animal whose destiny has been shaped by its collision with humankind. This season the series looks at the cat, the dog and the worm among other creatures. What is offered is no simple ‘strange but true’ collection of animal stories, but rather an ongoing tale which separates myth from reality, fiction from fact. It is a search to discover what each featured animal is really like and how interaction with them has shaped their nature and ours.

Wild Asia is a 9-part series that explores a range of Asian habitats and the unique creatures which live in them. Among the episodes to be shown are the orangutans of northern Sumatra, the Indian monsoon and its effect, the saltwater crocodiles of Asia’s extensive mangrove forests, and Asia’s islands, its barren heartland, and its islands. The series depicts the high quality of film-making we have come to expect from Natural History New Zealand. For example, in Wild Asia: At the Edge, a rich portrait of life and death is shown at the vertical limit of mammalian life on Earth — the Himalayas — including the most intimate and extensive encounters with a wild snow leopard ever captured on film.

Animal Cannibals considers the truth behind the assumption about the natural world, that animals avoid killing and eating their own kind unless there is no alternative. In fact, cannibalism is widespread in nature. Famed scientist Dr Jane Goodall investigates chimp behaviours while other scientists explore aspects of cannibalism in nature in this series.

For more information visit the NHNZ website: http://www.nhnz.tv