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SO you think your close encounters with the cockroaches, lizards and spiders in your bathroom or kitchen are dangerous? While they may get you screaming your lungs out and running for your dear life, they're just kid stuff compared to what some camera operators, directors, producers and television hosts go through every day.
These intrepid souls risk life and limb getting up close and personal with wild animals to capture stunning images of nature that appear on TV that we have take for granted. Especially, when the animals strike back.
An animal in the wild, powerful and agitated, is getting a little too close for comfort. These are the unforgettable moments that capture the audience's attention and don't let go. Animal Planet's new series, Up Close And Dangerous, which premiered on Feb 12, takes viewers on an emotional roller-coaster with some of the world's most acclaimed filmmakers. Each of their encounters with their pet subject, which can instantly changes from breathtaking to alarming, is aired on Animal Planet (Astro Channel 51) with an encore every Sunday at noon.
In Up Close And Dangerous , the world's top wildlife filmmakers tell their stories and share harrowing footage, including that of charging gorillas, elephants, snakebites, shark attacks, and close encounters with polar bears, buffalos, lions and tigers. In exclusive interviews, they describe how and why the incidents happened, the emotions they experienced, how they used their skills and knowledge to survive, and ultimately, how they gained even more respect for the animals with which they work so closely.
We were fortunate enough to have a phone interview with underwater camera operator Ron Taylor, who is featured in the episode Sloth Bears, Great Whites And The Giant Pacific Octopus, showing on Feb 19. In this episode, a massive great white shark becomes entangled in steel cables and Taylor tries to save her life.
"We had a very dramatic sequence when a shark became tangled in the steel cable that we had our cage attached to the boat with," said the now 73-year-old, reminiscing on the incident.
"The shark became so tangled up that it appeared it was going to die. So my wife and I got out of the cage and took the shark ashore to untangle...