Â鶹ԼÅÄ

Brand new TV show Planet Defenders coming to CÂ鶹ԼÅÄ!

Media caption,

‘Planet Defenders’ roars onto CÂ鶹ԼÅÄ

A brand new TV show that follows young environmentalists and filmmakers across the globe is coming to CÂ鶹ԼÅÄ.

Each part of the series is self-filmed and features a specific animal story or wildlife issue that the filmmakers want to share with you guys watching at home.

You can expect rockhopper penguins on the Falkland Islands, endangered dolphins off the Kenyan coast and even some singing apes!

Ricky caught up with one of the programme's filmmakers, Ashwika Kapur to chat about what to expect, and lets say just say Ricky was surprised to learn about the Hoolock gibbons singing voices! Ashwika told Ricky: "They start the day singing to the sunrise, they have amazing voices, they are the opera singers of the wild".

More animal news!

What to expect?

Each film is self filmed by the environmentalists and features a different story centred around a specific animal each week.

One of the series filmmakers, Ashwika, told Ricky: "Planet Defenders is a super exciting wildlife and conservation show for kids".

Lets introduce you to the filmmakers!

Image caption,

Ashwika Kapur

Ashwika Kapur, who is better known as Ash, is an award winning natural history filmmaker from India and also a qualified science communicator.

Ash is on a mission in Planet Defenders to show us the difficult situations Hoolock gibbons are living in due to loss of habitat.

In her episode Ash visits a village where people live peacefully alongside the gibbons.

Ash said: "The next generation in that village is just so engaged with nature, they are definitely going to grow up to champion the cause of conservation and that gives me so much hope for the species."

Image caption,

Erin Ranney

Meet Erin Ranney - a camerawoman from the US who loves to film nature documentaries. She is also an experienced deep-sea video engineer, so she's spent a lot of time underwater filming sea creatures.

Erin will be visiting the Falkland Islands where she will be searching for answers as to why the population of rockhopper penguins has fallen by 80 percent since the 1930s.

Image source, Â鶹ԼÅÄ
Image caption,

Jahawi Bertolli

Jahawi Bertolli is a wildlife filmmaker, photographer and music producer from Kenya. Jahawi has a love for dolphins, especially the ones on the northern coast of Kenya, where he lives.

In Planet Defenders, Jahawi will be taking us to meet the Kinyika dolphins and show us how he works hard to protect them. He will be working closely with the Marine Mammal Network to get the area protected as a marine reserve.

Image caption,

Megan McCubbin

You may recognise Megan from Â鶹ԼÅÄ Two's Springwatch which she presents with her step dad Chris Packham, where they show people the beauty of British wildlife.

Did you know that Megan is a self-confessed shark fanatic? She will be diving deep into the threats that sharks face in British waters.

Megan had this to say about sharks: " I am more motivated, more than ever, to stand up and say something to try and protect them because they really do need protection now more than ever".

Image caption,

Malaika Vaz

Malaika Vaz grew up close to the beach and forest and developed a love for all sorts of animals when she was young. She has travelled across all seven continents and dived deep into abandoned shipwrecks!

Malakai will be investigating why elephants are in danger and will be going undercover to discover more information.

Malaika said: "Spending so much time with elephants has made me realise that the choices we make don't just define who were are but also what sort of planet we choose to leave behind."

Image caption,

Jack Harries

Jack Harries is a photographer and filmmaker who has given talks on climate change at events around the world, and has even interviewed Sir David Attenborough!

He is passionate about getting young people engaged in environmental issues, he will be looking at the impact of re-wilding around the UK.

Planet Defenders is on at 6.35pm on the CÂ鶹ԼÅÄ channel from 26 March.

Will you be tuning in? Let us know in the comments!