ALIEN INVASION THREATENS AMERICA, AND FLORIDA IS THE FIRST TO FALL IN ANIMAL PLANET'S KILLER ALIENS

Killer Species Make Their Presence Known in Two Hour Special on Sunday, March 14

(Silver Spring, MD) - America is being invaded by KILLER ALIENS and Florida is ground zero. The Sunshine State is being overrun by lethal Burmese pythons, feral hogs, voracious Nile monitor lizards, and Gambian rats the size of cats. All of these non-native, and therefore alien species, have been imported by humans and in most cases is a direct result of peoples' obsession with having exotic animals as pets. When these creatures grow up and become too much to handle, all to often they are disposed of irresponsibly into forests, swamps and even backyards, leading to lasting and in some cases dangerous consequences. On Sunday, March 14 from 8-10 PM (ET/PT), it's a race against time to fight this ecosystem nightmare in KILLER ALIENS.

KILLER ALIENS explores how these foreign invaders are wreaking havoc on the ecosystem and how natural species are in a fight for survival. These invasive creatures are able to compete too well with native species for food and habitat, which is of particular concern for animals that are already endangered such as the Key Largo wood rat. Hurricane Andrew helped shed light on the problem of invasive species when the destroyed buildings it left in its wake, allowed many creatures to get loose from zoos and other places. With no natural predators, their populations continue to spread rapidly throughout the state, spreading disease, destroying vegetation and crops, preying on native species and in the worst cases harming humans.

"Invasive species have become a serious issue in the U.S. The front lines are expanding, and no one knows where they are headed next," says Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet. "The stories of these creatures' proliferation make for fascinating, important and compelling television."

KILLER ALIENS is produced for Animal Planet by Hoff Productions. For Hoff Productions, Michael Hoff is the executive producer. Dawn Sinsel is the executive producer for Animal Planet. Charlie Foley, is vice president of development for Animal Planet.

Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world's only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment. APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 96 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.