Rescuing Katrina's Animal Victims: PBS' Award-Winning Nature Series Follows The Heroic Effort

Rescuing Katrina's Animal Victims: PBS' Award-Winning Nature Series Follows The Heroic Effort

Sunday, November 20, 2005, Beginning at 8 p.m. ET on PBS Stations

NATURE Presents Katrina's Animal Rescue

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- NATURE will present "Katrina's Animal Rescue," on Sunday, November 20, 2005, at 8:00 PM on PBS stations (check local listings). They're the flood victims who were left behind -- the tens of thousands of household pets separated from their owners in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This special one-hour episode of NATURE takes viewers to the front lines of the battle to rescue these helpless animals -- before it's too late.

Navigating the flooded streets of the devastated city, NATURE follows animal rescue teams in their search for survivors -- a dog stranded on a rooftop, a kitten trapped in the branches of a tree -- all without food and water for days or weeks. With the odds against them, rescuers use any means necessary -- up to and including a National Guard tank - to reach these animals in distress.

Amazingly, amidst all the chaos and destruction, a lucky few are reunited with their owners. Along the way, the program explores what happened to the other animal inhabitants of New Orleans - from the zoo and aquarium to the wildlife of Lake Pontchartrain. Witness the heroic efforts to save Katrina's animal victims -- on NATURE.

"Katrina's Animal Rescue" launches a trio of documentaries from PBS' continuing series each offering a different perspective on the Katrina disaster. NOVA and FRONTLINE will both focus on the effects of Katrina on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET.

NOVA "New Orleans: Anatomy of a Disaster" (w.t.) on November 22, 2005, at 8 p.m. ET will unfold a minute-by-minute reconstruction of the disaster told through gripping eyewitness testimony. What made this storm so destructive? How accurately did scientists predict its impact? And why are powerful hurricanes like Katrina likely to strike more often? NOVA will explore why the storm was so deadly and why flood defenses and relief planning failed to match Katrina's fury.

Following at 9 p.m. ET, FRONTLINE will premiere The Storm, an in-depth look at the confused chain of command -- from city hall to the White House -- that could not keep pace with events on the ground. Veteran FRONTLINE producer/reporter Martin Smith leads a team exploring the decisions made before Katrina hit and in the desperate moments when New Orleans devolved into chaos.

pbs.org/pressroom Promotional photography will be available shortly on PBS PressRoom.

About NATURE

Now in its 24th season, NATURE has won more than 300 honors from the television industry, parent groups, the international wildlife film community and environmental organizations, including the first award given to a television program by the Sierra Club.

Underwriters: Canon U.S.A., Inc., Ford, Public Television Viewers and PBS. Producer: Thirteen/WNET New York. Format: CC Stereo DVI Letterbox/HD where available. Online: pbs.org

About PBS

PBS is a private, nonprofit media enterprise that serves the nation's 348 public noncommercial television stations, reaching nearly 90 million people each week. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions. PBS is the leading provider of educational materials for K-12 teachers, and offers a broad array of educational services for adult learners. Video resources for educators are available at http://www.shoppbs.com/teachers. PBS's premier kids' TV programming and Web site, PBS KIDS Online (pbskids.org), continue to be parents' and teachers' most trusted learning environments for children. More information about PBS is available at pbs.org, the leading dot-org Web site on the Internet. PBS is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.

Source: PBS

CONTACT: Bob Rumerman, +1-212-499-6567, Kathleen Kaan, +1-212-560-3026, James Kimer, +1-212-499-6571, all for NATURE; Kim Tavares of PBS, +1-703-739-5011

Web site: http://www.pbs.org/ http://www.shoppbs.com/teach

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