A REAL AMERICAN HORROR STORY!: NEW SEASON OF ANIMAL PLANET'S "RIVER MONSTERS" KICKS OFF WITH TWO-HOUR EPISODE OF ALL-AMERICAN MANEATERS

-- Best-Performing Series in Network History Follows Extreme Angler Jeremy Wade As He Reveals the Frightening Freshwater Truths of What Lurks Below --

(New York, New York, February 28, 2012) - For three successful seasons of Animal Planet's RIVER MONSTERS, extreme angler Jeremy Wade has taken viewers along as he unravels freshwater fish tales of giant killers - where sometimes the fact really is stranger than the fiction! These voyages have taken him across the globe to waterways far and wide, all on an endless search for man-eating creatures that lurk below. He's caught dozens of these elusive beasts, typically in remote jungles and unexplored lands.

But this time, Wade's journey begins in a familiar territory - America's backyards. In his first investigation of season four, he takes viewers to Florida, Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma in search of all-American maneaters in the two-hour RIVER MONSTERS season opener "American Killers" on Sunday, April 1, at 9 PM (ET/PT). The series airs regularly on Sundays at 10 PM (ET/PT).

RIVER MONSTERS returns with brand-new episodes of the weekly detective mystery, following Wade on a worldwide search for harrowing tales of bloodthirsty fish. A fearless explorer, he aims to hook the finned culprits that are thought to attack humans and reveal how much truth lies in the legends.

The suspense-filled premiere "American Killers" follows Wade as he treks across the U.S. in search of deadly river monsters living in the nation's waterways - from the popular Indian River Lagoon in Florida, where unsuspecting water enthusiasts are faced with what could become a modern day "Jaws," to the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, where underwater hunters have reached man-eating proportions. Other U.S. locations include Barbers Hill Canal and the Trinity River in Texas as well as the creeks and lakes of Oklahoma.

"I've been on the trail of RIVER MONSTERS all over the world, and normally I'm tracking them down in remote jungles; however, lately I've been getting reports from an area I couldn't believe, one of the most populated places on earth - the United States," says Wade. "I've discovered that you have to learn to expect the unexpected in my business, but what viewers will see in 'American Killers' took even me by surprise."

Wade dives in and gets to the bottom of freshwater fish stories with dangerous excursions to remote and populated locales worldwide. In Zambia on the Zambezi River, crocs and hippos are known for being deadly predators, but Wade is on the prowl for a fish said to able to swallow a child. And when he hears of a recent bloody attack in Mongolia, Wade suspects the Taimen -- a giant fish so rare it's legendary. In the remote Indian Himalayas, he searches for the Sareng, an animal the locals consider sacred but is lethal nonetheless.

The season four finale episode of RIVER MONSTERS, "Lair of Giants," is a two-hour look at one of the most challenging expeditions of Wade's life, premiering May 27, at 9 PM (ET/PT). It's a different adventure for Wade as he journeys into the unknown and isolated jungles of Guyana, South America, where early explorers wrote about a river system filled with mysterious giants - the Esequibo River. The two-hour finale of RIVER MONSTERS is part of Animal Planet's first-ever Monster Week, where for eight nights the mysterious menaces of the animal world take over the network's lineup, beginning with amped-up episodes of RIVER MONSTERS, featuring lost footage as well as all-new, monster-sized episodes scattered throughout the week and the season finale, "Lair of Giants."

RIVER MONSTERS remains Animal Planet's top-performing series ever among all demos, with all seven season three episodes delivering more than 1.5M P2+ viewers.

RIVER MONSTERS is a production of Icon Films for Animal Planet. Harry and Laura Marshall are the executive producers for Icon Films, and Lisa Lucas is the executive producer for Animal Planet. Charlie Foley is vice president of development for Animal Planet.

All three seasons of RIVER MONSTERS are available for purchase at AnimalPlanetStore.com. Jeremy Wade's book, River Monsters: True Stories of the Ones that Didn't Get Way, is in bookstores. Animal Planet's RIVER MONSTERS product line continues to grow in both the fishing gear and publishing space. This spring, new fishing gear - including tackle boxes, lure kits, fishing rods and more - will be available at Walmart, Kmart, Academy, Sports Authority, Pamida, US Army/Air Force Exchange, Big 5, Mills Fleet Farm, Alsco Stores, Dunhams and Cabela's. Following two successful books last year, River Monsters: Extreme Adventures debuted at the Scholastic Book Fair in January. The book follows Wade in pursuit of renegade river monsters, which includes a flesh-ripping fish in New Zealand, a mutilating monster in Papua New Guinea and a silent assassin swimming in Argentina.

Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world's only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment. APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 96 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.