Talking to the animals

Vicki Croke, with Beau the giraffe at Franklin Park Zoo, hosts an animal show on NECN. (Jonathan wiggs/globe staff)

Beau the giraffe swoops his neck down toward Vicki Croke, whose palms hold his favorite snack: slices of butternut squash. She strokes his head as she tapes a segment for "The Secret Life of Animals," her new show on NECN.

On this chilly afternoon, Croke is at the Franklin Park Zoo in Dorchester, where she brought a handheld camera to bring viewers into the behind-the-scenes homes of lemurs and giraffes.

On the show, which launched Nov. 23 and airs Sundays at 7:30 p.m., Croke introduces viewers to some of the region's more colorful animals (a dancing cockatoo), endangered species (penguins caught in oil spills), and pets that mesmerize (a duck that uses a wheelchair to get around). The show also has a segment called "Pets in Translation," in which Croke explains to dog and cat owners how they can read their pets' body language.

Croke says she wanted to do the show to help foster a better understanding of animals and how people can improve their pets' lives. "I really want it to be about the bond between humans and animals and be really useful for pet owners," Croke says as she hugs the giraffe's 200-pound head.

The show is sponsored by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which provides Croke with zoologists as well as video from the organization's library. Trainers and staff from the Animal Rescue League of Boston have also appeared on the program.

"There is a lot of information about animals in the world. Not all of it is correct," says Croke, who lives with two Irish wolfhounds in Newton. Each dog, at 125 and 135 pounds, weighs more than Croke. The dogs can be seen lounging on the show's sofa, where they serve as furry cohosts. "I really want to make a difference in our understanding of the animal world. I am in such awe of the animal world that I want people to feel that same excitement."

The show is an extension of Croke's lifelong passion for animals. She wrote the Globe's "Animal Beat" column for 14 years, and her books include 2005's "The Lady and the Panda," about the American woman who brought the first live giant panda out of China in 1936. Nicole Kidman is set to star in the film adaptation.

But Croke's immediate focus is the animal show. From the NECN studios, she introduces two- and four-legged friends such as Lemon the labrador featured in the movie "Marley & Me." She also leaves the studio to commune with animals. In an upcoming episode, Croke highlights the Franklin Park Zoo.

"This is what I live for, to hold hands with a lemur," she says as she feeds Maki, a baby in its cage at the zoo while the camera rolls.