Bear Grylls, the British adventurer and star of survival show Man vs Wild, has been fired by The Discovery Channel after a contract dispute.

Grylls, 37, has hosted the show since 2006, becoming famous worldwide for being dropped into hostile places to survive by eating wild animals and drinking his urine.

But "due to a continuing contractual dispute with Bear Grylls, Discovery has terminated all current productions with him," the US cable network said.

A spokesman for Grylls confirmed he and Discovery had been unable to reach agreement on new programming and have parted ways.

"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," said Heather Krug, publicist for Grylls.

"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."

Details of the dispute are unclear but trade publication The Hollywood Reporter quotes industry sources as saying it revolved around two unannounced projects for which Grylls was contracted.

The sixth and most recent season of Man vs Wild was broadcast on Discovery in the US in July and August 2011. The series is shown in about 200 countries around the world.

It featured one episode in which Grylls was joined in a remote part of Iceland by actor Jake Gyllenhaal.

Other episodes saw Grylls dropped by parachute into jungles and deserts, surviving for days by eating snakes and insects, sleeping in snow holes and wrapping a urine-soaked t-shirt around his head to combat dehydration.

Bear Grylls endures another outdoor challenge. ( www.fanpop.com )

Reuters