Wild Life Adventures

A profile of rain-forest advocate Payakan, a Kayapo Indian whose crusade to save his Amazon homeland has made him a celebrity and the target of Brazilian government investigations. Wes Studi provides the voice of Payakan. Also: interviews with those who worked with him.

Matthew Fox hosts this program on the efforts to reintroduce wolves to Yellowstone National Park, where native wolves had been completely eliminated over 60 years ago. Included:  footage of wolves killing an elk; interviews with local ranchers.

Examined: pink dolphins in the Amazon; killer whales in Puget Sound; and spotted dolphins in the Bahamas. Also: efforts to save stranded dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico; and how deforestation, hydroelectric dams and overfishing affect the food chain. Host: Bridget Fonda.

Wildlife photgrapher Richard Goss travels to South Africa to photograph the meerkats of the desert regions, as well as other animals, including lions, zebras, giraffes, water buffaloes, leopards and baboons. Narrated by Franz Russell.

The Mojave Desert is observed through the eyes of a desert tortoise (voiced by Bruce Dern) who encounters desert inhabitants, both human and animal. Included: kangaroo rats, geckos, sidewinders, yucca moths, Joshua trees and creosote bushes.

Aquatic and terrestrial wildlife is observed by Jacques Cousteau and the crew of the Alcyone along the coast of South Africa and in game preserves. Included: poaching; a wildlife auction; and native bushmen.

The fauna and flora of the Makgadikgadi salt flats in Botswana's Kalahari Desert are observed by cinematographer Tim Liversedge following an unusually heavy rainy season. Included: lions, zebras, finches, flamingoes and foxes. Narrated by Richard Roughton. Voice of Liversedge: Ralph Cosham.

Alicia Silverstone meets with wildlife veterinarian Dave Jessup to treat ailing animals, including elephants suffering from "floppy trunk syndrome," which causes the elephant to starve to death. Also: the Marine Wildlife Care and Research Center in Santa Cruz, Cal.

Harry Hamlin travels to the Great Plains to observe the buffalo (or bison), which is returning from the brink of extinction. Included: the social structure of a bison herd; the spiritual connection between buffalo and Native Americans; and a bison roundup.

Four generations of leopards, tracked over the course of 12 years in the Masai Mara region of Kenya, are chronicled by African cinematographer John Varty, who observes their social structure and survival skills.

Saltwater crocodiles, huge reptiles that can grow up to 20 ft. long and weigh up to one ton, are observed in Darwin, Australia. Included: encounters with "problem" crocs in Darwin Harbor; the media's appetite for crocodile stories; and a taxidermist who specializes in crocs.

A rafting expedition down the Tekeze River in Ethiopia is fraught with danger, including crocodiles, rapids and tropical diseases. Also: the crew investigates possible resting places of the Ark of the Covenant, reputed to be hidden along the river.

The Cousteau Society Team dives into Russia's Lake Baikal, the biggest, deepest lake in the world, to observe the aquatic life. Included: freshwater seals found only in Lake Baikal.

The Cousteau Society Team charts the course of China's Yangtze river using camels, horses, rafts and boats. Included: a diving expedition in Lake Ngoring Hu, near the river's source. Also: a visit to a city along the Silk Road and the Great Wall.

Mariel Hemingway and her family travel to Panama where they visit the Panama Canal and Barro Colorado, an island formed by the canal construction, where a variety of tropical life exists including monkeys, bats, birds and crocodiles.

Tucked in a tiny Alaskan bush plane that soars high above the rugged land, actor Jared Leto shares his first-hand lesson on braving the country's last frontier. Strap in for the ride of your life, and experience the ultimate sense of freedom. The real hero of this story is Paul Claus: bush pilot, wilderness guide and lodge owner.

Stunning photography highlights this chronicle of cinematographer Dyanna Taylor's attempts to follow the footsteps of writer and artist Everett Ruess, who disappeared in Utah's red-rock canyon country in 1934. Also: Monument Valley.

Beginning in New York, actress Sarita Choudhury journeys abroad to some of the last unspoiled places in India. Travelling on rickshaws and elephants, aboard ancient steam trains and brightly painted trucks, Sarita visits the palaces of Maharajahs, the hunting lodges of former kings and queens, and meets the men and women who devote their lives to saving and protecting the tiger.

Lauren Hutton shepherds 7-year old Nick and 8-year-old Teo from New York City to Kenya, where the "Little Warriors" observe the native wildlife and meet Masai warriors, who make them honorable tribe members and teach them the ways of the land.

Every November brings the "March of the Crabs" on Australia's Christmas Island, where 80 million land crabs migrate to the ocean to breed. Included: steps taken to avoid slaughter of the crabs on highways. Also: rival male crabs battle for mates.

A one hour film that documents the work of a wildlife veterinarian investigating a mysterious disease that is decimating a small elephant population in Zimbabwe. Hosted by Alicia Silverstone.

Stunning underwater photography highlights this chronicle of cinematographer Al Giddings as he dives into Truk Lagoon in the South Pacific, where a savage battle took place during WWII. Included: how aquatic plants and animals have reclaimed the lagoon.

Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger travel to Peru and Mexico to examine the plight of wild parrots, one-third of which are listed as endangered. Included: how birds are illegally trapped and sold; a research team raising orphan macaws.

As Santiago investigates his first murder while also investigating More, More conducts his own clandestine investigation. Reza considers an exit plan. Renny has date with N.

Host Isabella Rossellini observes urban wildlife in New York City's Central Park; including small mammals, reptiles and birds. Also: reintroducing indigenous species to the park and capturing non-native animals, such as 40 guinea pigs that were set loose by an owner who couldn't care for them.

Examining China in the post-Mao era.

Examining Siberia's Beringia region.

Filmmaker Mitsuaki Iwago goes diving with humpback whales, observing them feeding, breeching, courting, giving birth and migrating from the Mexico's Gulf of Coronado to Alaska.