FISH ON! JEREMY WADE PLUNGES INTO THE MURKY DEPTHS FOR MORE "RIVER MONSTERS" ADVENTURES

-- Extreme Angler Explores More Mysteries in Best-Performing Series in Animal Planet History --

-- From Japan to New Zealand to Argentina, Wade is in Search of Dangerous Freshwater Creatures That Have a Penchant for Human Flesh --

(New York, New York) - He was detained as a suspected spy and threatened at gunpoint. He survived a bout with malaria and narrowly escaped drowning. He survived a plane crash in the Amazon, and his hand was sliced by a machete. And now, Jeremy Wade returns for more dangerous mystery and freshwater sleuthing in a new season of RIVER MONSTERS. This one will prove to be the most exotic and bizarre yet.

Animal Planet's top-performing series ever returns with seven brand-new episodes beginning Sunday, April 10, at 10 PM (ET/PT) as biologist and extreme angler Wade travels worldwide to solve freshwater fish tales and lures in watery culprits that allegedly attack mankind. This season, Jeremy finds himself in places he's never explored as he travels to the far reaches of the globe - from serpentine underwater caves to remote rivers filled with freshwater crocodiles. In the first episode titled "The Mutilator," Jeremy searches for the giant cousin of the piranha that - with its gnarly teeth and gnawing jaws--has turned from vegetarian to meat eater, with a particular interest in male genitalia. The second episode features "The Flesh Ripper," a fish with toxic blood. In order to test his hypothesis, Jeremy has to use himself as human bait and lure the fish by covering himself in fresh fish guts.

In addition to new episodes of RIVER MONSTERS, several special editions of the series will air, including "The Deadliest" (May 8 at 9 PM) and "Most Bizarre" (May 30 at 9 PM), highlighting the biggest moments and catches in Jeremy's career; TRIBAL FISHING (May 22 at 9 PM), a special where Jeremy works with indigenous tribes to learn their special techniques at angling, including fishing with spider webs and using only his voice to lure fish; and RIVER MONSTERS: THE LOST REELS (June 5 at 9 and 10 PM), two specials from Wade's early years searching for what lurks below.

"This season, I get into even more unfamiliar territory," notes Wade. "The destinations are diverse, the stories strange, and the fish every bit as fearsome but in unexpected ways. I encountered fish with invisible powers, others that live to a century, the largest true freshwater fish so far and the longest struggle I've had with a live fish to date."

RIVER MONSTERS remains Animal Planet's top-performing series ever among all demos, with all seven season two episodes delivering more than 1.5M P2+ viewers. In May 2010, the series helped Animal Planet rank among the top 5 performing ad-supported cable networks in the Sunday 10 PM timeslot (excluding movies and sports) based on P25-54 and M25-54 delivery.

Animal Planet's RIVER MONSTERS is a weekly murder mystery, following Jeremy's worldwide search for harrowing tales of man-eating fish, with the hope of proving these freshwater mysteries as tall tales or frightening fact. Wade has taken his life-long passion and turned it into a full-time career, searching for a variety of aquatic vertebrae while navigating the globe's waterways. Wade's RIVER MONSTERS quests have him diving in with and reeling in fascinating and mysterious creatures - all alleged man killers�

RIVER MONSTERS is a production of Icon Films for Animal Planet. Harry and Laura Marshall are the executive producers for Icon Films, and Lisa Lucas is the executive producer for Animal Planet. Charlie Foley is vice president of development for Animal Planet. Season one and two of RIVER MONSTERS is available for purchase at AnimalPlanetStore.com. Jeremy Wade's first book, River Monsters: True Stories of the Ones that Didn't Get Way, is in bookstores and retailers on April 5, 2010.

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.