Namibia: Sanctuary of Giants
Channel: Nat Geo Wild (DStv 182 / StarSat 221)
TX Time: 18h00
Genre: Wildlife, Nature, Documentary
Of all the countries of Africa there is one that wears the wildlife crown: Namibia.
But human settlements and industry are steadily swallowing the land where Namibia's wildlife once roamed free.
Even worse, poaching is on the rise.
With the perils comes hope.
Namibian government experts, biologists and scientists are developing simple, innovative strategies that are truly making a difference, especially for some of Africa's most iconic and leviathan creatures – the elephant, the rhinoceros and the cheetah.
Huge areas of land have been set aside for elephants and rhinos to roam free and secure under the watchful eyes of scientists, guards and volunteers.
This human presence sends a serious message; poachers beware.
Kunene and neighbouring Etosha National Park are now home to most of the remaining populations of these African giants.
Hundreds of thousands of cheetahs were once found all over Asia and Africa – only about 7,000 animals remain.
Around a third of them live in Namibia. But the cheetahs prey on livestock and the herders want retribution.
Enter The Cheetah Conservation Fund: through research, intervention and compassion they diffuse potentially fatal confrontations between people and cheetahs.
This film is a celebration of the people who are making Namibia a sanctuary for the giants of Africa and an intimate look at the majestic creatures they are fighting for.
Secret Life Underground
Channel: Curiosity Channel (DStv 185)
TX Time: 19h00
Genre: Wildlife, Nature, Documentary Series
The underground world is a largely unexplored universe. Find out what goes on in the subterranean world of our planet Earth.
The Skin of the Earth
We know less than 10% of the organisms that populate the underground world and that, each in their own way, take an active part in creating the soil.
We are just beginning to discover that plants form partnerships and create complex unions.
Welcome to this subtle, surprising and secret world.
Hidden in the Depths
Take a journey alongside scientists into an underground maze with huge surprises in store.
They lead us into monumental cavities, shaped by water and by time.
They reveal to us mineral jewels of staggering beauty, and shed light on certain species of fauna that defy the imagination.
Norm Macdonald: Me Doing Stand-Up
Channel: Comedy Central (DStv 122)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Comedy, Special
Norm MacDonald, the iconic anchor of SNL's "Weekend Update" and star of the cult classic Dirty Work, is back with a vengeance.
Get ready as one of the world's funniest and most provocative comedians lets loose in his first-ever one-hour stand-up special.
Me Doing Stand-Up covers everything from cheating death to 24-hour news stories, shameful sex, serial killers and cheese sandwiches.
The Living Edens
Channel: Nat Geo Wild (DStv 182 / StarSat 221)
TX Time: 18h45
Genre: Wildlife, Nature, Documentary Series
Planet Earth is still home to places so pure they have become precious reminders of how all the world - the ancient, timeless Earth - once looked.
From the icy mountains of Denali to the aqua blue seas of Costa Rica, we witness dramas unfold among the animal inhabitants as they have since the beginning of time.
Through the expertise of world-acclaimed natural history filmmakers, we experience the magic of each Living Eden as it is captured on film for future generations.
In the series premiere, "Africa's Most Extreme": There is a 1,200-mile strip of land on the southwestern coast of Africa where the searing Namib Desert meets the frigid Atlantic Ocean.
Here, the basic elements of the Earth exist in paradoxical extremes.
The Namib, an extremely arid desert, is often cloaked in fog created by the cold, nutrient-rich Benguela current.
Fur seals and penguins divide their time between the sandy shore and the icy water of the sea, while ostrich, gemsbok and hyena roam the wind-swept dunes.
Ingenious adaptations to this ancient desert's extreme conditions allow these and other creatures to survive in an Eden called the Namib.