Growing Up...

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Growing Up... is a series that airs on Animal Planet, a cable and satellite television network co-owned by Discovery Communications, Inc. and BBC Worldwide. Each episode is an hour long and follows the life (usually the first year) of a wild animal growing up in captivity.

Video Growing Up...

Description

The show has always featured mammals as the animal or animals being taken care of. The episodes typically include one animal, two or more animals from the same litter, or two or more animals taken care of at the same facility that were either born in captivity or rescued from the wild. The animals that have been born in captivity either stay in their current facility or are moved to another facility while the animals that are rescued may or may not be released back into the wild.

The first episode to air was Growing Up Grizzly, which aired as a TV movie in 2001, co-starring Bart the Bear 2 (then known as "Little Bart") and hosted by Brad Pitt. Growing Up Lion then aired in 2003. The program became a regular series starting in May 2004, when the rest of the episodes began to air on a weekly basis.

Recurring events

Recurring events in the series include:

Some time being dedicated to the gestation period of the mother.
Animal being rescued from dangerous situation, adandoment, or being orphaned.
Diseases, infections, illnesses, or other health problems in the animal's life.
The animal's transition from milk to solid food.
The animal being introduced or reintroduced to other animals of its own kind or species.
The caretaker's interactions with the animal(s).
The animal's first birthday celebration.
The animal's interaction with enrichment toys.