He’s eaten from a zebra carcass, swum across freezing lakes in just his undies to see what it’d be like, and he once slept in a dead sheep’s carcass for warmth. Sadly, it might be a while before we get to watch any of Bear’s antics again. The Discovery Channel set him free for good yesterday by announcing their relationship is over.

Popular television series, Man vs Wild, which stars the 37-year-old Bear Grylls, is no more.

The termination of the relationship is reportedly due to the fact that Bear wouldn’t work on two unannounced projects with the Discovery Channel.

Discovery Channel said yesterday that their reason for letting Bear go was:

Due to a continuing contractual dispute with Bear Grylls, Discovery has terminated all current productions with him.

During his show, the British adventurer travelled through some of the most inhospitable places on Earth, including South Africa, Australia, the Arctic Circle and the Amazon.

Grylls has starred in the series since 2006, and wrapped production on the sixth season last August.

Heather Krug, a publicist for Bear:

Bear’s goal has always been to make life-empowering shows for his many fans around the globe, and he has taken great risks to bring Discovery such award-winning programming over seven seasons.

Unfortunately, Bear and Discovery have not been able to come to mutual agreement on new programming, and he disagrees with Discovery’s decision to terminate current productions.

Bear has loved the Man vs Wild journey and looks forward to producing further cutting edge content again soon for his loyal audience.

What started as a cult following for the adventurer, quickly developed into a worldwide brand phenomenon.

Bear has written close to a dozen books, many of which are survival guides. His autobiography, Mud, Sweat and Tears, is already a best-seller in England and Australia, and will be published in the US in May. He also has numerous endorsement deals, and his own clothing line.

Please enjoy the pair of loafers Bear chose to wear to meet the Queen last year..

One of Bear’s shows – Born Survivor in the UK – faced controversy in 2007 because Bear and his camera crews had been spending nights in hotels, rather than camping in the wild, as the show depicted.

Discovery panicked a little, and the series was briefly taken off the air.

When it returned to air, a disclaimer read:

Bear Grylls and the crew receive support when they are in potentially life threatening situations, as required by health and safety regulations. On some occasions, situations are presented to Bear so he can demonstrate survival techniques.

Professional advice should always be sought before entering any dangerous environment.

Bear himself said he had done it so he could spend time with his family.

At the time, Bear’s public image took a knock, and his greatest competition, Les Stroud, of Survivorman, said that being in the wilderness for prolonged periods was incredibly demanding on his mind and body:

It takes a lot out of me as I really do what I do for real, with no camera crew, no nights in hotels like others do, and it takes a toll on my body.

Bear tweeted after the news broke that his relationship with Discovery was over:

@BearGrylls: Super proud of my team and all they’ve built with ManVsWild. Looking forward to the next set of Adventures!! #TEAMBG

Followed by:

@BearGrylls: Thank you fans for your support!! Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. #TEAMBG

Do you remember when Bear took Will Ferrell on an adventure in northern Sweden, and Will ate their emergency Twinkie after 10 minutes?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHV9NQ-p6kU

See you soon, Bear.

[Sources: BearGrylls, HollywoodReporter]