Do You Dare to Venture Back into the Water? Discovery Channel’s 13th Annual Shark Week Returns Programming Highlights / Discovery World HD Posted by RAD on Jul 17, 2008 - 04:47 AM Scaring swimmers and fascinating viewers for over a decade, Discovery Channel’s favourite summer theme week returns! Discovery Channel’s 13th annual Shark Week – airing Sun., July 27 to Fri., Aug 1 – offers six days of fascinating facts about sharks and the latest in shark behaviour, survivor stories and stunning underwater cinematography. And for wider jaws and even sharper teeth, dare to experience Shark Week in High Definition on Discovery HD! Discovery HD offers its own Shark Week lineup, Mon., July 28 to Fri., Aug. 1 (please see descriptions below for date and time information). This season’s programs address myths about sharks, spotlight lesser-known and unusual sharks, and educate the public about the importance of sharks through conservation information. Discovery Channel’s full Shark Week 2008 lineup is as follows: · MythBusters: Shark Special 2008 Sun., July 27 at 9 p.m. ET/PT Using their signature sci-tech style of explosive experimentation in this new two-hour special, the MythBusters hit the deep blue from California to the Bahamas to investigate myths about sharks, including: Are sharks repelled by magnets? Do dogs attract sharks? Do the flapping vibrations caused by an injured fish attract sharks? Does chili powder repel sharks? And hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman create the ultimate Shark Week build – a robo-shark nearly five metres long! · Blue Realm – Whale Sharks: Gentle Giants Mon., July 28 at 8 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT It’s not a whale, but it’s by far the biggest fish in the sea! Whale sharks can grow to an astonishing 15 metres in length – and yet the biggest fish in the ocean eats only the smallest animals, including plankton, krill, or invertebrates. And unlike their menacing cousins, such as great whites or tiger sharks, they pose no threat to humans. Humans, on the other hand, are the main threat to the survival of these gentle giants. This beautiful one-hour special reveals what the whale sharks indicate about the health of our oceans, how cutting-edge technology is offering new information about their migration and population patterns, and how a new focus on shark-based eco-tourism – including snorkelling and scuba diving with sharks – is helping to stem the tide of their shrinking numbers. · Surviving Sharks Tues., July 29 at 8 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT Survivorman's Les Stroud hosts this look at how best to play it safe in the water, while testing popular theories of how to survive shark encounters. Stroud travels to the Bahamas and South Africa to test whether the behaviour of Caribbean reef sharks and great whites changes depending upon the time of day. While in South Africa, Stroud and marine biologist Jeremiah Sullivan conduct an analysis of the great white’s bite, test whether kicking and splashing attracts sharks and determines whether it’s safer to stay in a group or tread water alone if stranded in the ocean. · Dirty Jobs: Shark Special 2008 Wed., July 30 at 8 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT Mike Rowe travels to a place many wouldn’t associate with sharks – the edge of the Arctic Circle – in search of the mysterious Greenland shark. A slow-moving, cold water shark, scientists hope that by learning more about it they can better understand the rapid ecological changes affecting that part of the world. · Perfect Predators Thurs., July 31 at 8 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT This two-hour special tracks and observes sharks in their hunting grounds and ranks a number of shark species according to their skills, level of development and status as the ocean’s ultimate hunters. Perfect Predators reveals surprising insights into exactly how the most ruthless shark species have earned and retained their reputation as the undisputed rulers of the world’s oceans. This special also investigates new scientific applications and technologies being developed using the unique qualities of sharkskin, including testing its barnacle-shedding properties on ships and its bacteria-resistant properties to coat operating tables and catheter tubes. · Mysteries of the Shark Coast Fri., Aug. 1 at 8 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT With its tropical seas hosting more species than anywhere else in the world, Australia’s north-eastern coast is a hotbed of shark activity. But there’s trouble in the sharks’ stronghold Down Under – even here, the sharks are disappearing. What’s happening to them? This two-hour special follows a special team including pioneering Australian marine biologist Richard Fitzpatrick; noted shark documentary filmmaker and host Mike deGruy; lead scientist for the Nature Conservancy M. Sanjayan, Ph.D.; and adventurer Celine Cousteau as they undertake the largest shark tagging expedition in Australian history. Their mission: to discover the cause of the mysterious decline in shark populations here and find out if we can help the situation. To do so, the team deploys “crittercams” and remote cameras to explore and record shark behaviour and to gather new insight into the still largely secretive life of the ocean’s ultimate predator. And for a lineup with even more bite, Discovery HD presents: · Shark Feeding Frenzy Mon., July 28 at 7 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT · Paradise for Predators: Sharks of Palau Tues., July 29 at 7 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT · Blue Realm: Whale Sharks – Gentle Giants Wed., July 30 at 7 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT · Great White Shark: Uncaged Thurs., July 31 at 7 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT · Shark Family Fri., Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT This article is from CHANNEL CANADA   http://irc.channelcanada.com/ The URL for this story is:   http://irc.channelcanada.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2301