Dr Ann’s Secret Lives

[TV.Cynic]

The ABC’s ‘Nature Nerd’ Dr Ann Jones is about to get up close and personal with some of the scariest, cutest and most reclusive creatures on the planet.

To find them and uncover their secrets, she’ll join passionate scientists on expeditions into remote areas of Australia and the IndoPacific region.

Locating these animals won’t be easy, she’ll need to hack her way through unforgiving rainforests and swim into shark infested waters. While Dr Ann focuses on one charismatic animal each episode, she’ll be sidetracked by some of the ecosystem’s other fascinating and extraordinary creatures. Episodes include Sharks, Turtles and Crocodiles.

PRODUCTION CREDITS

An ABC original. Producers: Dr Penny Palmer, Elle Gibbons, Rebecca Lamond. ABC Head

[TV.Cynic]

Dr Ann’s Secret Lives uncovers wildlife mysteries this July

First Look | Dr Ann's Secret Lives | ABC iview

ABC’s beloved nature nerd, Dr Ann Jones gets up close with some elusive and sometimes dangerous wildlife in the new 6-part series Dr Ann’s Secret Lives. The new series is set to premiere Tuesday 15 July at 8.30pm on ABC TV, with all episodes available to stream on ABC iview.

Across the immersive series, Dr Ann steps into the field alongside scientists as they uncover the secrets of how these remarkable creatures adapt, survive, and thrive in their environments.

From dense rainforests to remote coastal regions, each episode offers a rare and intimate look at one animal. On the Great Barrier Reef, QLD, Dr Ann comes face-to face with a heavily pregnant bull shark, and in the Pilbara, WA, she goes fishing for deadly, mysterious sea snakes. In the steamy heart of Borneo’s jungle Dr Ann looks for wild orangutans; and in the Dampier Archipelago, WA, she meets three species of turtle. In Moreton Bay, QLD, Dr Ann helps catch a dugong for an onboard health check, and along the edge of the Kinabatangan River in Borneo, she hunts for one of the weirdest mammals on the planet, the scaly, labrador-sized pangolin.

Dr Ann’s infectious enthusiasm and deep respect for nature provides a unique perspective. Blending scientific inquiry with heartfelt storytelling, this series offers an intimate look into the challenges and triumphs of wildlife research.

Always free and Always entertaining, discover more enlightening and inspiring science programs on ABC iview now.

Production Credits: An ABC Production. Producers: Anthony Barwell, Suzanna Vuletich, Sophie Walsh, Rainer Kelly. Series Producer: Elle Gibbons. Executive Producer: Penny Palmer. ABC Head of Documentary and Specialist: Susie Jones.

[TV.Cynic]

EPISODE 1

TUESDAY 15 JULY 8.30 PM

In northern Queensland, nature nerd Dr Ann Jones comes face to face with one of Australia’s mightiest predators, the bull shark, and discovers there’s much more to them than meets the eye.

Dr Ann Jones starts her journey standing by a murky river, fringed with mangroves, in north Queensland. She’s 10km from the coast and fishing for baby sharks. Bull sharks breed in river systems along Australia’s east coast, and to find out where the pups go after they’re born, Dr Nico Lubitz places acoustic tags just under their skin and then tracks their movements.

[TV.Cynic]

EPISODE 2

TUESDAY 22 JULY 8.30 PM

Dr Ann Jones joins a team of intrepid scientists on a daring expedition off the Pilbara coast to study one of Australia’s most mysterious and lethal predators: sea snakes.

Dr Ann Jones joins a team of intrepid scientists on a daring expedition to study one of Australia’s most mysterious and lethal predators: sea snakes.

Their mission is to find, catch, and study as many specimens as possible. The challenge?

Four days on the open ocean, 30 kilometres off Western Australia’s Pilbara coast - with no antivenom on board.

[JohnsonTV]

‘Oh my god, let it go!’: The ABC show getting (almost) too close to dangerous...

[TV.Cynic]

EPISODE 3

TUESDAY 29 JULY 8.30 PM

Dr Ann Jones ventures into the steamy heart of Borneo’s jungle to look for wild orangutan, following a team of dedicated scientists whose work is leading to new insights into one of the world’s most intelligent and elusive great apes.

Dr Ann Jones treks into the steamy heart of Borneo’s jungle, joining passionate scientists in their quest to research one of our closest and most powerful primate relatives … the orangutan.

Their mission is to understand and facilitate their survival and devise clever new ways humans can live alongside them. But Ann’s real challenge is to see them in the wild.

[TV.Cynic]

EPISODE 4

TUESDAY 5 AUGUST 8.30 PM

It’s hot work, but worth it - females laying eggs; flatback hatchlings, and she even wrestles a Green Turtle.

Dr Ann heads to Rosemary Island off the coast of Western Australia to one of the world’s most significant breeding sanctuaries for three species of sea turtles – Flatback, Green and the critically endangered Hawksbill.

For three days, she joins a team of scientists and volunteers to get hands-on tagging and studying the turtles to better understand what threats they might face in the future.

[TV.Cynic]

EPISODE 5

TUESDAY 12 AUGUST 8.30PM

To uncover dugong secrets, Dr Ann Jones joins marine zoologist Dr Janet Lanyon - who has spent over 40 years studying these elusive creatures - and her volunteer team for a week of intensive fieldwork in Moreton Bay, home to the world’s largest dugong health assessment.

Getting close to a dugong is no easy feat. Ann takes part in a “dugong rodeo,” diving in to help measure a half-tonne animal in the water.

[TV.Cynic]

EPISODE 6 - FINAL

TUESDAY 19 AUGUST 8.30PM

In a remote jungle field centre nestled on the banks of the mighty Kinabatangan River, Borneo, Dr Ann Jones joins researcher Jerry Lim as he studies the world’s only scaled mammal, the pangolin.

As one of the world’s most trafficked mammal, researchers like Jerry are in a race against time to learn all they can about the secret lives of pangolins and how we might save them.

Finding one is the first step, but even with some of the most seasoned researchers, it’s not as simple as it sounds.

[TV.Cynic]

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