The Supervet Safari Special | Preview (Channel 4)

Britain's favourite vet, Professor Noel Fitzpatrick, steps out of his comfort zone in this South Africa special, travelling a world away from his specialist referral practice in Surrey to help majestic and powerful wild animals.

Having been at the forefront of innovation in orthopaedics and neurosurgery for small animals in the UK, Noel turns his hand to helping endangered rhinos and improving the lives of two big cats by performing procedures rarely - if ever - provided for wild animals before.

Not knowing what challenges lie ahead, Noel meets the animals endangered by poaching, injured due to neglect in captivity, and exploited in one way or another. In this special episode, Noel spends time with the magnificent animals of the savannah and the wonderful selfless people who dedicate their lives to looking after them - often in very difficult circumstances.

Noel treats young rhino Kolisi and helps to design and build the world's first prosthetic rhino foot, and also treats 21.5-tonne rhino Bruno, who has an anti-poacher tracker inserted in his horn so he can be traced at his home on a game reserve.

Noel gives lame tiger Laziz, who was rescued from a private zoo, an arthroscopy in an attempt to relieve the crushing pain of arthritis, and performs a cutting-edge procedure on lion Rici - who was originally kept as a pet and has deformed front legs due to inbreeding and a life in captivity - to try to reduce his pain.

From the eye-opening and immense challenges Noel faces, he also reflects on the responsibility we have as humankind to step up and look after these incredible animals, who are intrinsic to our legacy on planet Earth.

The Supervet Safari Special airs Thursday 23rd February on Channel 4.