Posts tagged "NationalGeographic"

Picture a tiny chihuahua standing next to a massive St. Bernard. It's difficult to imagine they share the same ancient ancestor: the wolf.

In a two-hour television special entitled, "And Man Created Dog," the National Geographic Channel tells the story of how the modern dog evolved from wild wolves tens of thousands of years ago, and in the hands of man, became the most diverse species on the planet.

"If humans were as varied as dogs, we would range in height up to 22 feet tall and could weigh more than 1,000 pounds," according to the show.

The tale begins with wild wolves who lingered at the edges of human campsites eating scraps of food. They became known as "camp wolves," and as the more docile ones stayed near humans, they became genetically isolated from wolves in the wild. This led to the creation of a "proto-dog," and eventually, the modern dog.

Perhaps the most recognizable star of the new Nat Geo Wild network is Casey Anderson, a wildlife expert who captured headlines last year when he chose his pet grizzly bear, Brutus, to be best man at his wedding. Anderson talked to Paw Nation about his new series, "Expedition Wild with Casey Anderson," (which premiere's tonight), and what it's like taking care of Brutus, who turned 8 years old in January, weighs 900 pounds and eats 40 pounds of food each day.

How did you get Brutus?
He was a little grizzly bear that was born in a wildlife park that was overpopulated. Essentially they had one choice, and that was to euthanize him. When bears are born into captivity, they can't be released into the wild. They don't learn the skills from their parents to survive. So I got the idea to start a sanctuary that rescued bears like Brutus, giving them the opportunity to live some sort of a life, and most importantly, let them be ambassadors to their wild cousins.

How many bears do you have at your sanctuary, Montana Grizzly Encounter?
We have four now. We rescued a couple more that were part of a circus, bears that lived in eight-by-eight-foot cages for 18 years. They never were able to run or swim or dig or wrestle. Now they can be bears and run around the sanctuary and do all those things. It's just really wonderful to see. They have several acres that they run around on, and then every night, as state law requires, they come into their own dens. We make sure to spay and neuter all our bears because captivity is a dead-end street for a bear.

Things are about to get even wilder at National Geographic. Tonight, the nature-loving institution is launching its TV channel, "National Geographic Wild" (aka Nat Geo Wild) for American audiences. The Nat Geo Wild network, which first launched in Hong Kong in 2006, is dedicated to giving viewers a window into some of the most remote and exotic locations on earth and the creatures who inhabit them.

"Against a global backdrop of increasingly urgent conservation challenges facing wildlife, Nat Geo Wild is giving the animal kingdom center stage as it features the work of some of the world's foremost explorers, filmmakers and scientists," the new network said in a statement.

Some of the original series you can look forward to seeing include:

Mystery Gorillas: Follow Mireya Mayor, a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader-turned-primatologist, as she ventures into the Congo to peek into the private lives of the elusive great apes.

Expedition Wild: Join Casey Anderson and his 800-pound grizzly bear pal on Alaskan adventures. (Be sure to read Paw Nation's interview with Casey Anderson Monday, April 5.)

Caught in the Act: Animals are captured on tape in rare and often spontaneous situations. Experts offer insights into the unique animal behavior.

Rebel Monkeys: Cameras follow a gang of monkeys living at a temple in Jaipur, India as they lounge poolside and accept handouts from humans who have come to worship the Hindu monkey god, Hanuman.

Other shows coming up include: "Shark Island" where Enric Sala and his crew explore waters crowded with sharks and other animals and "Hunt For the Giant Octopus" where researchers try and find a highly intelligent giant octopus that measures 33 feet across and weighs 400 pounds.

Nat Geo Wild hits American televisions today. Check online at Nat Geo Wild or with your cable provider for availability .

On Friday's episode of "Dog Whisperer" on the National Geographic channel, Cesar Millan helps "Biggest Loser" fitness and life coach Jillian Michaels with her 14-month-old greyhound mix, Seven, who has a naughty little habit of nipping at Jillian's horse.

"We're going to get on the horse while [Seven] attacks the horse from the ground," Michaels laughs, as Millan clambers atop her 2000-pound horse with a dog leash in his hand. "That's fine. I'm up for a trip to the hospital."

Will Millan succeed in teaching Michaels how to control Seven? Watch Millan work his "magic" in the preview below.

Also on the show, Millan works with a German shorthaired pointer who's an escape artist, and a Yorkshire terrier who attacks brooms and car windshield wipers.

The "Dog Whisperer" airs Friday at 9 p.m. on the National Geographic Channel.

Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan is usually calm, assertive and in control. So what made him gasp, reel backwards and raise his hands to his face? The surprise unveiling of a huge portrait of Daddy, MIllan's beloved pit bull, that a grateful client painted to thank the Dog Whisperer.

For more than 10 years, Daddy has been Millan's right-hand dog. Viewers of Millan's television show, "Dog Whisperer," know that Daddy is the ultimate balanced dog. "I have never had a dog like Daddy," Millan writes in the inaugural issue of his magazine, "Cesar's Way." "I've been astounded by his intuition, consoled by his affection, and awed by his silent empathy."

It's no secret that the gentle pit bull is getting old. "Daddy's doing great, but he's 15 now," Millan told Paw Nation in an interview earlier this month. "So you can see the age crawling in. It's the body -- especially his back legs -- so he gets acupuncture twice a week; he swims every day; walks every day; and eats great meals for his digestion."

Still, Daddy can't work with Millan like he used to. "I leave it up to him [whether he wants to work]," Millan said. "Some mornings, he wakes up and he wants to go. And the funny part is, those mornings, I really need him. Daddy always helps me. It's a partnership."

In tonight's episode of "Dog Whisperer" (airing on the National Geographic Channel at 9 p.m.), Millan helps a Pekingese who's afraid of food and water, a Chihuahua who likes to bite people, and a pair of chow mixes who pick fights with each other.

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There's an orangutan whose best friend is a hound dog; a cat whose playmate is a crow; an elephant whose constant companion is a Chow-mix dog; a baby hippo who pursues a friendship with a 130 year-old tortoise; a lioness who bonds with baby antelope; and the story of Christian, a lion cub purchased at Harrod's Department Store in 1969, who remembers his first owners a year after returning to the wild.

You may have seen them on Youtube, but now in "Unlikely Animal Friends," the National Geographic channel explores these six unusual animal bonds in depth with extensive footage, interviews with the animals' owners and commentary by experts.

Perplexing as the unlikely friendships are, they illustrate the "ability of animals to feel complex emotions," says one expert on the show. Love and compassion, it seems, are not solely the domain of humans: witness other inter-species videos such as the fawn who bathes a cat and the dog who befriends a duck.

The one-hour program, "Unlikely Animal Friends," premieres this Saturday, September 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the National Geographic channel.

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Talk about bearing witness!

An 800 pound grizzly bear named Brutus served as best man in naturalist Casey Anderson's 2008 wedding to actress Missi Pyle. But this was not a stunt for pun's sake; Anderson calls Brutus his best friend, even telling Good Morning America, "He gives me unconditional love."

Expedition Grizzly, a new documentary airing on National Geographic on Sunday, May 3^rd at 9pm EST, captures Anderson living among the bears of Yellowstone National Park, charting their lives and man's impact on their environment.

Anderson first befriended the bear in 2002 when young Brutus' wildlife park became overpopulated. Before the cub had to face a lose-lose fate of captivity or death, Anderson adopted him and opened a sanctuary so Brutus could "act like a real bear."

Of course, "real bears" don't usually eat at kitchen tables and swim in lap pools. But according to Anderson, they do experience human-level emotions, sometimes even shedding tears. Anderson's relationship with his furry surrogate son spawned his mission to dispel false "man eater" stereotypes about Grizzlies.

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