PROGRAMMING ALERT FOR MARCH 25: ANIMAL PLANET GOES WILD IN EMOTIONAL AND INCREDIBLE JOURNEYS OF HUMANS RAISED BY ANIMALS

(March 24, 2014, New York) - Animal Planet presents the world premiere of WOMAN RAISED BY MONKEYS, Tuesday, March 25, at 9 PM, bookended by the encore of two episodes of RAISED WILD, "Bird Boy of Fiji" and "Dog Girl of Ukraine" at 8 PM and 10 PM (ET/PT).

In WOMAN RAISED BY MONKEYS, Marina Chapman claims she was abducted as a child and left to die in the jungles of Colombia. She says she survived by living with and mimicking the behaviors of capuchin monkeys for five years. During this special, Marina and her daughter return to Colombia to discover the mystery of her past. Why was she kidnapped, and was a five-year-old girl really able to survive in the jungle with only monkeys to care for her? Marina attempts to piece together what she remembers of her childhood while undergoing a series of tests to support her claims.

From Romulus and Remus to Mowgli and Tarzan, tales of children raised by animals have been the stuff of myth and legend for generations, but scattered among these folktales are stories of horrifying truths. Now in RAISED WILD, anthropologist Dr. Mary-Ann Ochota sets off to better understand feral children.

First, in "Bird Boy of Fiji," Ochota travels to Fiji to uncover the shocking truth behind the story of a small boy while he was squawking, flapping his arms and pecking at his food. Villagers claim the child's parents kept him locked under the house with the family chickens, and it was his years spent with the birds that affected his development. Can this child recover from such an upbringing? Then in "Dog Girl of Ukraine," Ochota journeys to Ukraine to uncover the truth behind the incredible story of Oksana Malaya, a young girl allegedly raised by dogs. Born during the Soviet era to alcoholic parents, young Oksana is said to have turned to the family dogs for warmth and love. Years later, she reportedly was acting exactly like a dog, a claim supported by compelling video footage. How might a child recover from such beginnings? Can her feral behavior fade with time? Dr. Ochota hopes to separate fact from fiction, and with luck, meet this amazing child.