Wildlife Wonders

Dian Fossey has become a modern legend. Passionate, fearless, and committed, Dian devoted eighteen years to study gorillas in the mountainous rainforest of Volcanoes National Park. Less well-known, however, is Bob Campbell wildlife photographer and filmmaker whose footage propelled Dian and the mountain gorillas into the international spotlight. Campbell was hired by National Geographic to film Fosseys work, and from 1968 to 1972 he shot 70,000 feet of film. Unfortunately, most of it has never been seen. Now, National Geographic is unveiling this extraordinary glimpse into the world of the mountain gorillas and Dian's unique rapport with them in MOUNTAIN GORILLAS:THE LOST FILM OF DIAN FOSSEY.

National Geographic shows you a different look at natures near perfect predator - the great white shark. With bloodlines going back 400 million years, they are older than dinosaurs and even trees. But only now are we starting to understand the true power of great whites. New science is finally uncovering the secrets of these giants and in this film cutting edge research is combined with powerful computer graphics and harrowing human stories to reveal a new and fascinating profile of this most ancient of creatures. Hear firsthand accounts of people who survived, including a surfer who was bitten on the arm and leg, towed by the surfboard ankle strap and miraculously escaped only with minor injuries. National Geographic demystifies the true motives and power behind their behavior.

This Emmy Award winning documentary explores the enigmatic Okefenokee Swamp where the alligator reigns supreme. Enter the mysterious, unchartable wilderness of Okefenokee, 700 square miles of swampland in the United States on the Georgia-Florida border. Eerie, forbidding, and darkly beautiful - Okefenokee is ruled by a descendant of the dinosaur, the fearsome alligator. Day and night the alligator glides silently through its steamy realm, stony eyes just above the waterline, mouth held in a seemingly perpetual smile. Join scientists as they study the behavior of these huge and powerful reptiles in REALM OFTHE ALLIGATOR.

The northwest Hawaiian Islands are a wildlife paradise.A string of tiny atolls and islands, almost a thousand kilometers from civilization, they are a refuge for almost thirty species of sea birds, endangered green sea turtles and a true 'living fossil', the Hawaiian monk seal. Seemingly sheltered in the clear waters of remote atolls, this oldest living seal's tiny numbers keep it always on the brink of extinction. From land to sea, from the rich shallows to the dark trenches, explore the unique web of life that sustains - or kills - some of the last tropical seals on earth.

Few creatures are as mysterious or captivating as the whale. From the Florida Keys to the Arctic waters, from Puget Sound to the islands of the South Pacific, whales today are threatened with new challenges. Watch the struggle unfold as men and women confront the mystery of a sudden 'mass stranding' of a group of pilot whales; an intense controversy brews over the impact of military sonar on whales; and as one scientist endures bone-chilling Arctic water to launch a groundbreaking study of the great bowhead whale. Learn about the increased suicidal behaviours of whales, and the actions taken by those on the front lines of conservation as they fight to ensure that the ocean waters remain a safe home for these magnificent creatures.

On South Africa's Mala Mala Game Reserve, predator and prey maintain an uneasy balance. This remarkable film documents one young male leopard's fight for survival and his place in the community hierarchy. One hundred and fifty pounds of strength, the four-year old male leopard,Tjololo, stalks his meals with liquid smooth movements. But keeping his catch from the animals that share his domain will require tough lessons and numerous heated confrontations. Hyenas approach as he rushes to free a freshly killed carcass, and Tjololo soon learns that success can be a matter of inches. STALKING LEOPARDS is an intimate chronicle of Tjololos journey into adulthood: claiming territory, fighting old rivals, mating and killing. For Tjololo, amidst Africa's wild cast of lions, water buffalo, hyenas, elephants, and impalas - the only way to walk is proudly and alone.

Enormous snakes...hungry caimans...frenzied piranhas...and a barefoot biologist! Jesus Rivas takes off his shoes to study giant anacondas in the swampy heart of Venezuela. He's searching for the slippery skin of the world's largest snake. Anacondas may be as long as 30 feet and weigh hundreds of pounds - and their weapon is sheer strength, not poison. Powerful coils literally squeeze the life out of prey, including even the capybara, the largest rodent in the world. National Geographic cameras capture astounding underwater footage of the anaconda hunting, and document an amazing breeding ball of slithering serpents. Witness the incredible, larger-than-life creatures that inhabit the LAND OF THE ANACONDA.

They inspire our imagination and haunt our dreams. Equipped with three-inch long canines and retractable claws like switchblades, big cats are among the fiercest and most fascinating four legged beasts on the planet. They are capable of taking down fleet footed antelope, two ton elephants and even human beings. National Geographic crawls through the African grassland and the swamps of India to track, capture, and reveal the ultimate engineering and stealth ambush tactics of lions, tigers and leopards.

Discover the fate of a polar bear and her twin cubs at the icy top of the world. National Geographic cameras follow the family during a two-year Arctic odyssey filled with touching and unforgettable moments, many never before filmed. Watch in wonder as curious cubs emerge from their den for the first time after a three-month hibernation. Go 'ice-crashing' with the polar bear family as they hunt for seals. Feel the tension as the mother protects her cubs from a hostile male, one of many dangers lurking on the ice floes. Just half of all cubs survive beyond their first year, and this polar bear family needs the mother's finely tuned instincts - and luck - to beat the odds.

The mysterious puma. Only a lucky few have ever glimpsed this magnificent cat that prowls the Andes. For two years, acclaimed natural history filmmaker Hugh Miles lived among Chile's pumas, capturing never-before-seen images of this shy, secretive predator. Experience the unprecedented bond formed between the filmmaker and an extraordinary puma he calls Penny. His camera, equipped with a special night-vision lens, reveals the triumphs and tragedies of Penny's life: She finds a mate, gives birth to three cubs, and guides her offspring through daily struggles against starvation and poaching.You'll see the wildlife of the Andes through Penny's eyes, as she stalks the camel-like guanacos and races after hares that make a quick meal - if they can be caught. it is rare for a totally wild creature to allow a human to come so close, and Hugh Miles makes the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Now, you too can walk in the path of the PUMA:LION OF THE ANDES.

Thunderbeast is a stunning insider's view of one ofAmerica's most impressive wild creatures - the American buffalo.Working over a perod of eight years, Emmy-award-winning wildlife filmmaker Bob Landis documented the real dramas of bison in Yellowstone National Park. From epic batties with grizzly bears and wolves, treacherous winters to late summer mating season, THUNDERBEAST captures the awesome survival skills of this American icon.

In the deep waters of Mexico's Sea of Cortez, large ravenous predators congregate, sometimes by the thousands.We know almost nothing about them.They come from the abyss...with a taste, it's said, for human flesh. They have grasping arms and tentacles attached to an uncanny, alien intelligence. Flashing in a code we cannot decipher, they are sea monsters with grim appetites. As mysteriously as they appear, these Humboldt squid disappear for months. Now an obsessed scientist and an intrepid cameraman team up to grapple with the mysteries of the creature known as the red devil, a beast that can reach six feet long. Join underwater cameraman Bob Cranston, who has spent more time than anyone else in the world at depth with the jumbo squid, as he studies these DEVILS OF THE DEEP.

From dawn to dusk it hunts the dark skies, a silent winged phantom with extraordinary hunting skills, using eyes and ears that can hear a mouse squeak from afar.At the slightest rustle of ts prey, the owl swerves in flight and strikes with uncanny accuracy. National Geographic joins filmmaker Fergus Beeley, who has devoted much of his life to the pursuit of earth's most powerful birds. Around the world, Fergus has observed their dazzling array of hunting techniques and intimate moments, from the barn owls of rural Europe to the snowy owls of wintry Montana, the Pels fishing owls of Kruger Park, South Africa, to the brilliantly camouflaged burrowing owl on the flood plains of Venezuela. OWLS: SILENT HUNTERS takes a rare look at the incredible powers of these elusive predators.

Over a thousand pounds, more than four feet tall at the shoulder, sporting four-inch claws and paws that can dwarf a lion's... the world's biggest bears are the largest land-dwelling carnivores on earth. Any of the North America's 'Big Three' bears - polar, brown or black - can take down just about any animal they want, including human beings. And that's only part of their power: they can run as fast as horses and faster than Olympic sprinters, smell seals hiding under feet of snow and bite through thick tree branches. And they're smart enough to get just about any food they want anywhere they find it. National Geographic goes one-on-one with this biological juggernaut and deconstructs its formidable combination of massive brawn and unbelievable powers of smell.