JACK BLACK, STAR OF KUNG FU PANDA 3, NARRATES ANIMAL PLANET'S CONSERVATION SPECIAL "PANDA REPUBLIC"

-- Two-hour Special Premieres Tuesday, January 26, from 8-10 PM --

(Silver Spring, Md.) - The giant panda is among the most revered, adored and recognizable animal on Earth, but this ancient bear is disappearing quickly. Sadly there are less than 2,000 pandas left in wild and only about 400 in captivity.

Animal Planet's two-hour special PANDA REPUBLIC premieres Tuesday, January 26, from 8-10 PM ET/PT. Narrated by Jack Black, star of DreamWorks Animation's upcoming Kung Fu Panda 3, PANDA REPUBLIC depicts the plight of giant pandas worldwide and draws attention to two Chinese panda centers dedicated to saving the species.

For millions of years, giant pandas have roamed across Southeast Asia, but now, these gentle giants are running out of living space. Without human intervention, pandas will become extinct, so China's cutting-edge panda centers are determined to save these iconic bears through research and shared responsibilities: Bifengxia Panda Center is dedicated to increasing the panda population in captivity; and Wolong Panda Center is committed to breeding these bears to be released back into the wild - its most ambitious mission to date.

At Bifengxia, PANDA REPUBLIC spotlights a handful of pregnant pandas that contribute to the center's impressive repopulation mission. Expecting mamas include nine-year-old Sulin; 20-year-old veteran mom (and grandma) Jini; and Shui Xiu who could be carrying twins. Viewers can witness every crucial milestone - from labor to delivery to the touch-and-go moments after the wee, pink, hairless cubs are born. Then, the cameras catch the cubs during captivatingly charming moments, showing some lazily chewing abundant stalks of bamboo while one special bear performs his goofy, three-legged handstands - a way to spray his scent in style.

The objective at Bifengxia's breeding center works hand in hand with the re-wilding mission at Wolong. Releasing strong, healthy captive-bred cubs is the wild panda's best hope. Wolong's success depends upon its ability to emulate the wild, therefore human interaction is highly discouraged - so much so that staffers are required to disguise themselves as pandas, wearing special black-and-white onesies. The cubs cannot recognize these humans for who they are, even though their captive-bred mothers know better. Mother pandas at Wolong specifically are chosen for their natural instincts and their competence in climbing and foraging - essential traits and skills needed to pass along to the young cubs trained for release into natural wild.

The dual-focused project at these Chinese panda centers is still in its experimental phase, with the re-wilding method especially new to researchers. The mission is a mixture of risk, potential setbacks and the glorious hope that these measures can ultimately ensure the future of the beloved giant panda.

PANDA REPUBLIC is produced for Animal Planet by NHNZ. Andrew Waterworth is executive producer for NHNZ. Krishna San Nicolas is producer for Animal Planet. Kurt Tondorf is vice president of development for Animal Planet.