National Geographic Wild Promises a Fierce Start to the New Year

New seasons of audience favourites

Savage Kingdom and Snakes in the City to premiere this January

National Geographic Wild (StarSat channel 221) enables viewers to experience some of the best, most intimate encounters with wildlife on television. This January, audiences can look forward to just that, with two new seasons of audience favourites premiering on the channel. The year starts with both Savage Kingdom and Snakes in the City showcasing African wildlife at its wildest.

2021 will get off to a roaring start with the fourth season of Savage Kingdom, Sundays at 18:00, from 3 January, starting with a special-launch double bill. In this epic Emmy-nominated series, narrated by Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), comes the eagerly awaited real-life drama from the heart of Mombo. In Northern Botswana, where peace never lasts long, power comes with a price. Since the tumultuous aftermath of the previous season, the Kingdom’s kings and queens return to purge the land of hyena rule and regain their rightful control.

The worst drought in decades has devastated the area, making it the perfect breeding ground for a warzone. The tables are turning with dominance ever-shifting. Every animal fights not only to survive but to defend its rightful place in an ever-changing, cutthroat kingdom. As more lions, leopards and African wild dogs enter this bloody battlefield to fight for their share of the power, only the strongest and most audacious can be victorious. War is the heartbeat of the Savage Kingdom. The story of life, is written in blood; power is everything, and there can be only one ruler, right?

Later in the month, everyone’s favourite snake catchers: Simon Keyes and Siouxsie Gillett, return to the country’s snake capital, Kwa-Zulu Natal, where they help catch the scaly reptiles that appear in unwanted places to return them to the wild. Snakes in the City S7 premieres on Mondays at 18:00 from 25 January 2021.

The British-born couple has become renowned for their daring snake rescues and educational insights into the various KwaZulu-Natal breeds. Siouxsie, with a degree in Herpetology, met Simon at a reptile store in the United Kingdom. The two relocated to Durban where they started rescuing reptiles, the basis for this series. The couple has been on call-outs for many snake rescue expeditions, some of which have turned out to be not snakes, but rather hair bands, rubber snakes, gecko tails, blades of grass, and even a rat. But along the way, they’ve had some fascinating and breath-taking adventures. Audiences can look forward to many more as the seventh season slithers onto screens.

“Backed by its unparalleled reputation for quality and blue-chip programming, National Geographic Wild is dedicated to providing unique insights into the natural world, our environment and the amazing creatures that inhabit it. We look forward to bringing both of these riveting productions showcasing Africa’s wildlife to viewers across the continent in the new year, bolstered by a full slate of equally riveting content lined up for the rest 2021.” said Evert van der Veer, Vice President, Media Networks, The Walt Disney Company Africa.