King of the Jungle is an American reality television program, that appears on the Animal Planet cable television network. The original series debuted in Fall 2003 and starred a group of 12 "animal experts" and was hosted by Jeff Corwin. "Nasty" Nigel Marven was the judge who "booted" off a contestant each week. The show was plagued with inconsistencies in judging and content, but was a ratings hit for Animal Planet. A sequel was hosted by Madison Michele; it debuted in July 2004. This show failed to earn the ratings of the first season. A hastily produced third season consisting of teams of two was all but buried by Animal Planet before and during its airing. It was called King of the Jungle: Pairs and had 14 contestants instead of 12. The teams were: Lori and Lisa, twin science teachers from Boston; Hindley and Thomas, best friends from Alabama; Lolita and Matt, lifelong friends from Columbus; Kevin and Sherry, a married couple, also from the Columbus area; David and Petite, hair stylists from Kennesaw, Georgia; Wendy and Troy, brother and sister from Indiana; and Steve and Danielle, another married couple from Greensboro, North Carolina. As of November 2005 there are no plans to renew this show, and Animal Planet has removed all traces of it off its websites.
