UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

UT Tyler Biology Professor Featured on Discovery Channel’s Survival Adventure Series

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October 31, 2014

Media Contact:  Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer–Strategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)

Dr. Blake Bextine, UT Tyler professor of biology, will appear on the Discovery Channel’s new survival adventure series, “Tethered.”

The six-episode show, which premiered Oct. 5, tests survival skills by tethering complete strangers together with a thick, red-covered, six-foot rope. Each pair is left at a drop-off point with just the tether that binds them, a basic map and a limited survival kit.

They have 10-12 days to overcome a challenging terrain and make it to the rescue point. “High in Alaska’s freezing Chugach Mountain Range, Blake, a biology professor, and Caesar, a self-proclaimed medicine man and practicing shaman, must endure the environment – and each other,” according to promotional materials.

“The idea was to put two people from different walks of life together, allowing them to depend on each other’s skills and hopefully learn more about themselves,” Bextine said. “Caesar and I were very different, but we worked well together and found a way to truly become partners and lifelong friends.”

The segment featuring Bextine, originally set to air at 9 p.m. CST on Sunday, Nov. 2, is currently on hold and will tentatively be rescheduled.

“It was a great experience that I will value for the rest of my life. I have always tried to be accepting of all people, and after this experience, I know that acceptance will help you survive the most difficult of situations,” Bextine added.

A public watch party at the Discovery Science Place in Tyler will be announced.

For more information, contact Bextine, 903.566.7323 or bbextine@uttyler.edu.

Photos courtesy of Discovery Communications