The second episode of Ray’s brand new series, Ray Mears Close Encounters, will be broadcast at 9:00 pm on Wednesday 24th July on ITV1. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_71zS-yXG8&w=492&h=277] In this new two-part documentary series, survival expert and presenter Ray Mears follows two of Australia’s most iconic animals, the Saltwater Crocodile and Tasmanian Devil. By studying these animals up close and in the wild, Ray gains a privileged insight into their unique habitats, in Australia’s Northern Territory and Tasmania’s wilderness.

[caption id="attachment_5217" align="aligncenter" width="420"] Ray Mears Close Encounters - The New ITV Series[/caption] In this second and final episode, Ray visits Tasmania to discover more about the island’s icon, the Tasmanian devil, and the fight to save it from a deadly cancer, Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD). By visiting the Tasmanian devil’s beautiful natural habitats Ray gets a chance to understand this tragedy as well as meet some other extraordinary creatures such as Monster Crayfish and the shy Platypus. With the help of vets, researchers, locals and Search and Rescue pilots, he gains a better understanding of a unique island which can have up to ‘four seasons in one day’ but where the Tasmanian devil’s survival is threatened - possibly to extinction. [caption id="attachment_5216" align="aligncenter" width="420"] Ray Mears Close Encounters - The New ITV Series[/caption] Extinction isn’t new to Tasmania and in the capital Hobart, Rays sees the last remaining evidence of the island’s most fearsome predator – the Tasmanian Tiger. The Tiger, like the local Aboriginal population, was wiped out by European settlers. Everyone hopes the Tasmanian devil population won’t go the same way, and hope is high. Throughout the island Ray finds individuals dedicated to saving the species. Currently the island’s wild, West Coast is disease free and before he leaves, Ray hopes he might get a glimpse of healthy Tasmanian devils feeding in the wild.