Giants: The Book of the ITV Series (Hardcover) | Released: 04 Oct 1999

The world's largest animals are to be featured in a new television series by Nigel Marven - ITV?s answer to David Attenborough. Giants: The Book of the ITV Series will chart his adventures as he travels around the world.Nigel has now been approached by the ITV network to produce five TV series over the next five years, which he will write, produce and present. It is ITV?s stated aim to make him the next David Attenborough and have contracted to back this with considerable marketing spend.The first series will cover some of the bestselling topics in the natural world. Nigel will be travelling in search of the largest sharks, snakes, tarantulas, birds, lizards and bears, including the Great White, Komodo Dragon, Green Anaconda and Brown Bear - some of the animals that sometimes attack and may even eat people.A series including a presenter who will appear on the screen right up close to these species should make perfect TV and an exceptional book.From the PublisherThis marvelous book takes us on an expedition in search of theworld¹s largest, often most dangerous animals. Packed with colorphotos taken during the filming of the television series, Giants is avivid record of some of the most awe-inspiring creatures in the world.In six chapters, the book looks at snakes, sharks, bears, lizards,birds, and tarantulas. We are introduced to such formidable creaturesas the whale shark, more than 40 feet from head to tail; the SouthAmerican anaconda, 20 feet long, 3 feet wide, and weighing in at 500pounds (sheep, pigs, even crocodiles are all vulnerable to attack);and the Goliath tarantula: hairy and venomous, it embodies all that isterrifying about spiders. A leading wildlife television producer, NigelMarven most recently produced a segment of David Attenborough¹swidely hailed series, ³Life of Birds.²From the Back Cover'Giants' follows Nigel Marven's travels as he searches for the world's largest, and often most dangerous, animals. Featuring photographs taken during the filming of the television series as well as many other stunning colour pictures, 'Giants' is a vivid record of some of the most fascinating creatures in the world.There are six chapters each looking at a different group of animals:'Snakes:' of all the giant snakes the anaconda of South America is the most impressive, up to 6m (20ft) long with a body width of over1m (3ft) and a weight of 227kg (500lbs). The anaconda lies in wait, sometimes for days, until prey passes by and then it strikes; birds, rodents, sheep, pigs, and even children are all vulnerable to attack.'Sharks:' everyone is aware of the formidable Great White, but the largest shark is the Whale Shark, 12.3m (40.3ft) long. Regarded with fear by many, only a small proportion of the world's 350 shark species are known to attack people.'Bears:' the three big bears are the Black Bear, the Brown (or Grizzly) Bear and the Polar Bear. The latter two vie for the title of the largest species: Polar Bears weigh an average of 500-600kg (1100-1300lbs) while Brown Bears usually weigh around 780kg (1700lbs). All three species are known to attack humans.'Lizards:' monitor lizards are the largest of all lizards and the most famous is the Komodo Dragon which reaches as average of 1.7m (5 ?ft) in length and weighs 50kg (110lbs). Dangerous predators, Komodo dragons have also attacked and killed humans.'Birds:' unlike other animals, large birds are generally regarded with awe rather than fear. The Wandering Albatross which spends its life on and over open sea has a wing span of up to 4m (13ft). elusive birds they can be seen following boats - particularly fishing vessels - in search of food. The heaviest flying bird is the Swan which can weigh up to 13kg (29lbs).'Tarantulas:' Spiders are possible the most feared of all creatures and this reaction is usually out of all proportion to the danger they actually pose. Tarantulas embody all that is terrifying about spiders: they are hairy, venomo