Dr Rhys Jones returns to BBC One

Dr Rhys Jones, Lecturer in the School of Biosciences, will return to our screens on BBC One Wales next week.

The new series of Rhys Jones's Wildlife Patrol will be broadcast on Monday 31^st March at 7.30pm.

Using his University laboratory as a base, Rhys works with the police, wildlife groups and concerned members of the public to both save and protect animals in Wales.

During the last series, Rhys, who is also a licensed wildlife handler and animal behaviourist, encountered a deadly animal sent through the post and helped solve a suspected case of deer poaching.

This series, he continues to explore native species of birds, mammals and reptiles who are threatened by illegal activity, mistreatment and, in some cases, unwelcome invaders.

Monday's episode will see Rhys investigating a four-thousand-year-old mummified package at Swansea University's Egyptology department and assisting South Wales Police on a raid into how a snowy owl came to be in an appalling condition.

He is also called by a group of students to give his expert opinion on whether an eight-legged invader is an escaped pet goliath spider.

Speaking of his new series, Rhys said: "I am incredibly excited for the new series. Viewers can expect to see me confronting deer poachers, investigating the resurgent red squirrel in North Wales, combatting organised criminal activity and using the very latest DNA extraction techniques to solve an extremely sad case of illegal ivory trading in the South Wales area.

"Helping to bring these traders to justice is a great personal victory for me – a few years ago, a white rhino I had studied in Kenya and considered a friend, was needlessly slaughtered for his ivory. The news of this left me devastated. Being able to strike back at these traders has, however, brought me some peace.

"The knowledge and skills I have learnt from the 25 years spent studying and lecturing at Cardiff University and in the wild have enabled me to give something back – and being able to share my knowledge and experience in this new series is just a huge bonus!"

Cardiff University and BBC Wales will host a screening of Monday's episode at the Sir Martin Evans Building from 6.30pm – 9pm, which will feature a Q&A session with Rhys.

Viewers are encouraged to Tweet @DrJonesWales using the hashtag #RhysJonesWildlifePatrol