Group launches Wildlife-focused show for kids

Wild Africa Fund has launched a new wildlife-focused TV series, Dr. Mark Animal TV Show for kids, set to premiere on Nigeria’s 24-hour TV channel, Silverbird TV. The show will educate children between 7 and 14 on Nigeria’s amazing wildlife and the need to protect them.

Nigeria has become a transit hub for the illegal wildlife trade of pangolin scales and ivory in the last few years. In the last 13 months, Nigeria Customs Services has made four major seizures of pangolin scales, ivory, and other wildlife parts in Nigeria. In addition, there’s also a growing appetite for bushmeat consumption, especially among urban dwellers in Nigeria.

Conservationists say illegal wildlife trade and a demand for bushmeat have sharply declined Nigeria’s wildlife and biodiversity. They estimate that Nigeria has fewer than 50 Lions, 100 Gorillas, 500 Elephants, and 2,300 chimpanzees left in the wild.

Generally, Ignorance and low awareness about Nigeria’s amazing biodiversity and the importance wild animals play in the environment have contributed to the continuous destruction of Nigeria’s wildlife. These existential challenges have inspired the need for public awareness and educational materials that educate the general public, especially young people who are best equipped to save our environment for future generations.

“We hope that kids will be excited to learn about these animals and how we must protect them for their futures,” said Peter Knights, the Founder of Wild Africa Fund and the Executive producer of the new TV show.

Dr. Mark’s Animal TV show will enlighten children on the human and ecology importance of wild animals such as Pangolins, Lions, African Grey Parrots, etc. They will also learn fun facts about these animals, including domestic animals like dogs.

A quiz is scheduled to inspire retentive knowledge in kids at the show’s end.

The animal show also comes at a time local content for children, especially on the environment, is nonexistent. In the past, Nigeria prided itself in producing exciting local TV shows for children like Tales by Moonlight. But in the last decade, there have been few of those around.

“We plan to invest in educational wildlife content that will empower children as the next generation of wildlife ambassadors,” said Festus Iyorah, the Wild Africa Fund Nigeria Representative. “We expect children to impact their cycle of influence with what they learnt from watching the show.”

The kiddies show premieres this Saturday and every other Saturday at 8:45 AM on Silverbird TV DSTV channel 252, StarTimes Channel 109, and GOTV channel 92/192.