NationalGeographic.

Evergreen Films Inc. 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 ...

Grizzly Creek Films 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 ...

"Rebel Monkeys" National Geographic 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 ...

© MPH-Emery/Sumner Joint Venture 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 ...

MPH-Emery/Sumner Joint Venture 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 ...

Suriya the orangutan with his BFF, Roscoe, a hound. Photo: National Geographic 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' ...