Season 1
Episode: 1x01 | Airdate: Feb 1, 1996
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.
Episode: 1x02 | Airdate: Jun 1, 1996
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.
Episode: 1x03 | Airdate: Jun 9, 1996
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.
Episode: 1x04 | Airdate: Aug 1, 1996
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.
Episode: 1x05 | Airdate: Aug 18, 1996
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.
Episode: 1x06 | Airdate: Dec 1, 1996
Episode: 1x07 | Airdate: Dec 10, 1996
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.
Episode: 1x08 | Airdate: Jul 12, 1997
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.
Episode: 1x09 | Airdate: Jul 13, 1997
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.
Episode: 1x10 | Airdate: Aug 1, 1997
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.
Episode: 1x11 | Airdate: Aug 6, 1997
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.
Episode: 1x12 | Airdate: Aug 19, 1997
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.
Episode: 1x13 | Airdate: Aug 19, 1997
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.
Episode: 1x14 | Airdate: Dec 1, 1997
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.
Episode: 1x15 | Airdate: Dec 1, 1997
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.
Episode: 1x16 | Airdate: Feb 22, 1998
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.
Episode: 1x17 | Airdate: Mar 29, 1998
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.
Episode: 1x18 | Airdate: Jun 1, 1998
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.
Episode: 1x19 | Airdate: Jun 9, 1998
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.
Episode: 1x20 | Airdate: Jun 9, 1998
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.
Episode: 1x21 | Airdate: Jun 9, 1998
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.
Episode: 1x22 | Airdate: Jul 12, 1998
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.
Episode: 1x23 | Airdate: Sep 28, 1998
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.
Episode: 1x24 | Airdate: Dec 25, 1998
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.
Episode: 1x25 | Airdate: Dec 27, 1998
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.
Episode: 1x26 | Airdate: May 19, 1999
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.
Episode: 1x27 | Airdate: Sep 6, 1999
Episode: 1x28 | Airdate: Dec 1, 1999
Episode: 1x29 | Airdate: Mar 21, 2000
Episode: 1x30 | Airdate: Dec 4, 2001
Examining China in the post-Mao era.
Episode: 1x31 | Airdate: Dec 26, 2002
Examining Siberia's Beringia region.
Episode: 1x32 | Airdate: Oct 27, 2003
Episode: 1x33 | Airdate: Dec 16, 2003
Episode: 1x34 | Airdate: Feb 5, 2004
Episode: 1x35 | Airdate: Jan 30, 2007
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.