PBS Slots NATURE Miniseries Deep Jungle for Three Nights Beginning April 17, 2005; New Technology Unlocks Secrets of World's Rainforests in Three-Hour Co-Production from Thirteen/WNET New York and Granada Wild.

NEW YORK -- Jungle expeditions were never like this. When Thirteen/WNET New York's NATURE series premieres Deep Jungle next spring, viewers will see a world that Tarzan never could have imagined.

The three-hour miniseries, airing Sundays at 8 p.m. (ET) on April 17 and 24 and May 1 on PBS, will reveal how technology is changing the nature of jungle exploration, providing intrepid scientists with the means to unlock secrets that vastly enlarge our understanding of rainforests and the role they play in planetary ecology.

Thirteen/WNET New York and Granada Wild co-produced, with Fred Kaufman, executive producer of NATURE, and Granada Wild's Brian Leith as co-executive producers. David Allen is series producer.

"What we're learning today about jungles and how we're learning it are almost equally fascinating," says Mr. Kaufman. "These three films reveal as much about the boundless quality of human ingenuity as they do about the living components of the jungle itself."

Filmed in the rainforests of Borneo, Peru, Cambodia, the Central African Republic and elsewhere, Deep Jungle follows researchers as they climb nearly 200-foot-high jungle canopies, confront unknown species, unravel mysteries of animal behavior, and explore hidden archeological sites that harbor clues about lost civilizations.

"It's all accomplished with a remarkable element of fearlessness and the inventive use of cutting-edge technology," says Mr. Kaufman.

The miniseries contains an array of unforgettable moments, several of the most striking of which involve jungle primates. In Brazil, for example, capuchin monkeys are seen hoisting small boulders above their heads and crashing them down upon nuts that would not otherwise open. This is the first time such tool usage has been captured on film.

Perhaps equaling "chilling" are scenes in which a chimpanzee assails a smaller primate in a breathless pursuit high in the trees, and a group of chimps form an organized mob to ruthlessly persecute one of their own kind who has run afoul of the social structure.

Among many scientists whose work is depicted in the mini-series are:

--the real "spiderman," Martin Nicholas, world renowned arachnologist who confronts a previously un-catalogued species more than10 inches in diameter from a breathtakingly close distance;

--Chloe Cipoletta, whose ability to win the trust of lowland gorillas has expanded human insights into these primates and helped slow rainforest logging; and,

--biologist Roman Dial, an ecologist with superb athletic abilities that have enabled him to prowl the jungle "rooftop" to map its vast expanse and learn its relationship to the animals who live within its shelter.

NATURE, now in its 23rd season, is produced by Thirteen/WNET New York for PBS. Fred Kaufman is executive producer; William Grant is executive-in-charge.

The series has won more than 270 honors from the television industry, parents groups, the international wildlife film community, and environmental organizations, including the first award given to a television program by the Sierra Club.

NATURE is made possible in part by Park Foundation. Major corporate support is provided by Canon U.S.A., Inc., and Ford. Additional support is provided by the nation's public television stations.

The series is closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and distributed with Descriptive Video Service (DVS) for the sight-impaired. For more information, visit www.thirteen.org or www.pbs.org . This Web companion to the weekly series contains in-depth information and colorful graphics for each program.

Thirteen/WNET New York is one of the key program providers for public television, bringing such acclaimed series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, Charlie Rose, Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, Wide Angle, Stage on Screen, Secrets of the Dead, and Cyberchase - as well as the work of Bill Moyers - to audiences nationwide. As the flagship public broadcaster in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut metro area, Thirteen reaches millions of viewers each week, airing the best of American public television along with its own local productions such as The Ethnic Heritage Specials, The Thirteen Walking Tours, New York Voices, and Reel New York. With educational and community outreach projects that extend the impact of its television productions, Thirteen takes television "out of the box." And as broadcast and digital media converge, Thirteen is blazing trails in the creation of Web sites, enhanced television, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, educational software, and other cutting-edge media products. More information about Thirteen can be found at: www.thirteen.org.