“Whale Wars” (9 p.m., Animal Planet): As many as five out of 15 species of great whales

“Whale Wars” (9 p.m., Animal Planet): As many as five out of 15 species of great whales are endangered today, and the International Whaling Commission has put a moratorium on whaling. But the whaling continues. Since 1981, Capt. Paul Watson has led a mission called Sea Shepherd to put a halt to it. A Greenpeace co-founder, Watson and his crew of volunteers face high-risk situations on voyages to carry out their campaigns, which begin every winter as they set sail from Melbourne, Australia, to find and stop violators by any nonviolent means necessary. The push to eradicate Japanese whaling utilizes some aggressive techniques, including ramming and disabling whaling ships, disrupting whale carcass processing, engaging in physical entanglement, and boarding and dispersing fleets of whaling vessels. During 2007-08, Animal Planet signed on for the trip, and a new seven-part weekly series, “Whale Wars,” is the result. That year’s campaign entailed multiple engagements with alleged illegal whalers, and also documents the group’s three-month journey across the icy Antarctic waters.

“Crusoe” (9 p.m., NBC): On “Crusoe,” our hero and his pal, Friday, are stunned to find a boat stuck high in the trees. Now, how to get it down, repair it and put it to good use?

“Survivorman” (9 p.m., Discovery Channel): A man is dropped off in the worst places without food, water or shelter, but he does have a camera crew.