THIRTEEN's Nature Showcases Crucial Conservation Stories and New Animal Behavior in Season 38, Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Beginning October 2 on PBS (check local listings)

NEW YORK, Aug. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- This fall, THIRTEEN's Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series Nature premieres new episodes Wednesdays at 8 p.m. beginning October 2 on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app, starting with Octopus: Making Contact, which follows an Alaskan professor who makes remarkable discoveries as he raises a pet octopus in his home.

From Florida to Cuba to the Okavango Delta, Nature's 38^th season provides a voice for the natural world by showcasing a unique and intimate look into the lives of a diverse group of wildlife and the scientists who study them. Through groundbreaking scientific research and the latest filmmaking technology, get a glimpse of animal behavior rarely seen, from pygmy marmosets in the Amazon basin to close encounters with whales in Monterey Bay. Discover some of the most crucial conservation stories of our time, such as the impact of reinstating keystone species into downgraded environments in The Serengeti Rules and the effect humans have had on Florida's natural wilderness.

Nature's new season culminates with the four-part miniseries Spy in the Wild 2 (Spring 2020), the sequel to the popular 2017 miniseries featuring animatronic spy cameras disguised as animals to secretly record behavior in the wild. This time, meet a Spy Komodo dragon, Spy puffin, Spy stork, Spy seal and more as they are placed right in the middle of some of nature's greatest events.

New documentaries in Nature Season 38 include:

Nature – Octopus: Making Contact (Season 38 premiere)
Premieres Wednesday, October 2 at 8 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app
Follow an Alaskan professor as he raises and studies a pet octopus in his home, making remarkable discoveries about its extraordinary intelligence, personality and skills. Octopuses are able to recognize faces and interact with other individuals.

Nature: The Serengeti Rules
Premieres Wednesday, October 9 at 8 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app
Travel back in time, from the Arctic Ocean to Pacific tide pools, with a pioneering group of scientists who make surprising discoveries that transform human understanding of how the natural world works. Based on a book of the same name, The Serengeti Rules had its theatrical premiere at Tribeca Film Festival and has won awards at the 2018 Wildscreen Panda Awards and Jackson Hole Science Media Awards.

Nature: Undercover in the Jungle
Premieres Wednesday, October 16 at 8 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app
Go undercover with a film crew on a perilous journey to the untouched wilderness of biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest. Meet some of the most incredible creatures, from pygmy marmosets to pumas, as the wild secrets of the jungle are revealed.

Nature – Okavango: River of Dreams (three-part miniseries)
Premieres Wednesdays, October 23 – November 6 at 8 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app
Experience the wildlife of the Okavango Delta, an unlikely oasis and lush paradise in Southern Africa that connects and supports a wide array of creatures. Lions chase elephants, who chase hippos, who chase crocodiles. Filmed by the Emmy Award-winning duo Dereck and Beverly Joubert (Nature: Soul of the Elephant) and narrated by F. Murray Abraham.

Nature: Nature's Biggest Beasts 
Premieres Wednesday, November 13 at 8 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app
Discover the ingenious strategies that nature's biggest beasts employ to conquer their environments, from the Komodo dragon with a deadly bite to the tallest giraffe to the bird-eating armored ground cricket. These are their epic survival stories.

Nature: Bears
Premieres Wednesday, November 20 at 8 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app
Follow the adventures of bears across the globe, from grizzlies to pandas to sloth bears, as they draw on their brains, brawn and unique adaptations to survive. Find out what it really takes to be a bear in today's ever-changing world.

Nature: The Whale Detective
Premieres Winter/Spring 2020 on PBS, pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app
Follow natural history filmmaker Tom Mustill as he investigates the reason behind his viral encounter with a 30-ton humpback whale that breached and landed on him while he was kayaking. What he discovers raises far bigger questions about whales' future alongside humans.

Nature: Cuba's Wild Revolution (w.t.)
Premieres Winter/Spring 2020 on PBS, pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app
In the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean, Cuba stands as an emerald jewel whose history runs parallel with the natural world. As international relations thaw, what will become of this island paradise?

Nature – Hippos: A Life Aquatic (w.t.)
Premieres Winter/Spring 2020 on PBS, pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app
In the ever-changing landscape of the Okavango Delta, the hippo is king. Uncover the unexpected side of this great beast, whose loud grunts, honks and booming laughs ring out as a warning that no other animal should dare oppose him.

Nature: The Mighty Weasel (w.t.) 
Premieres Winter/Spring 2020 on PBS, pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app
The weasel family is often associated with unsavory behavior, but do these critters deserve this bad reputation? Follow the adventures of a first-time stoat mum raising her kits and a tiny orphan weasel named Twiz on her journey back to the wild.

Nature: Wild Florida (w.t.) 
Premieres Winter/Spring 2020 on PBS, pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app
Florida is home to white sand beaches, coral reefs, pine forests, and the famous Everglades, but a growing human population and animal invaders are threatening this wild paradise. With the help of pioneering scientists, can Florida's wildlife weather the storm?

Nature: Remarkable Rabbits (w.t.) 
Premieres Winter/Spring 2020 on PBS, pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app
Wild rabbits can be found all over the planet. There are 31 species of wild rabbits and 50 different domesticated breeds. Despite their remarkable ability to reproduce, many wild rabbits are in danger of being eradicated.

Nature: Spy in the Wild 2 (four-part miniseries/Season 38 finale)
Premieres Winter/Spring 2020 on PBS, pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app
The sequel to the popular Nature: Spy in the Wild miniseries will place even more "spies" in the middle of some of nature's greatest events. Meet a Spy Komodo dragon, Spy puffin, Spy stork, Spy koala, Spy seal, Spy gorilla and more.

Led by executive producer Fred Kaufman, Nature pioneered a television genre that is now widely emulated in the broadcast industry, bringing the natural world to millions of viewers. Consistently among the most-watched primetime series on public television, Nature continues to innovate through original digital programming and a commitment to converting viewers into doers.

The series has won more than 700 honors from the television industry, the international wildlife film communities and environmental organizations, including 18 Emmys and three Peabodys. Nature received two of the wildlife film industry's highest honors: the Christopher Parsons Outstanding Achievement Award given by the Wildscreen Festival, and the Grand Teton Award given by the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. The International Wildlife Film Festival honored Kaufman with its Lifetime Achievement Award for Media.

Nature's award-winning website, pbs.org/nature, features full episodes, short films, behind-the-scenes content, nature articles, educational resources and more. The series is available for streaming simultaneously on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video app, which is available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast. PBS station members can view episodes via Passport (contact your local PBS station for details).

Nature is a production of THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET and PBS. Fred Kaufman is executive producer. Bill Murphy is series producer. Janet Hess is series editor.

Support for Nature is made possible in part by the Arnhold Family in memory of Henry and Clarisse Arnhold, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, The Fairweather Foundation, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao, the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, the Filomen M. D'Agostino Foundation, Rosalind P. Walter, Sandra Atlas Bass, Doris R. and Robert J. Thomas, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and by Viewers Like You.

Websites: pbs.org/nature, facebook.com/PBSNature, @PBSNature, instagram.com/pbsnature, youtube.com/naturepbs, #NaturePBS

About WNET
WNET is America's flagship PBS station: parent company of New York's THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its new ALL ARTS multi-platform initiative, its broadcast channels, three cable services (THIRTEEN PBSKids, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each month. WNET produces and presents a wide range of acclaimed PBS series, including Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, and the nightly interview program Amanpour and Company. In addition, WNET produces numerous documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings, as well as multi-platform initiatives addressing poverty and climate. Through THIRTEEN Passport and WLIW Passport, station members can stream new and archival THIRTEEN, WLIW and PBS programming anytime, anywhere.

SOURCE WNET