Wild America

America's Tree Squirrels are always on the alert. They swing through the woods with the greatest of ease, often leaping astonishing distances from branch to branch. Much of their graceful agility is due to their long, bushy, balancing tails. These tree-top acrobats use their tails as signal flags, umbrellas, blankets, and parachutes, as they go about their industrious and amusing lives.

"Prairie Wolf, Song Dog, Barking Wolf" -- the Coyote is called by many names, not always complimentary. Once they trailed the great herds across our western plains. The herds are gone. The opportunists remain, and are flourishing despite efforts to eradicate them. Today, their numbers are stronger than ever, but this proof of their versatility only heightens the controversy.

Of all wild animals, Rabbits are among the most familiar and best loved. With their soft fur and appealing eyes, they represent the vulnerable side of Nature. Though preyed upon, the Rabbit Family boasts surprising assets in the fight for survival, and its members -- from the Eastern Cottontail to the Swamp Rabbit -- are widespread, and as successful as any other American Mammal.

In French, the Fox is called "Reynard", meaning "unconquerable through his cleverness". Is this charming canid as crafty as the fables portray? Does it deserve its reputation as henhouse bandit? We'll find out as we meet these cunning hunters: the Arctic Fox, the Swift and Kit Foxes of our Southwest, the wide-ranging Gray Fox and the well-renowned Red Fox.

Ground Squirrels would not win a popularity contest; unless, of course, you're a hungry Hawk, Fox or Black-footed Ferret. From the Arctic Ground Squirrel of Alaska and the Golden-mantled of the Rockies to the ubiquitous Prairie Dog, our concealed cameras shed light on why these under-appreciated little critters allow us all to enjoy Nature's most magnificent species.

Managing wildlife most often means managing humans -- the primary predator in virtually all our ecosystems. Through this complex, but vital, process, we constantly try to balance our own conflicting interests with those of our native wild creatures. This thought-provoking program examines some of the most innovative and controversial plans currently operating across the country.

North America's most widespread Mammal is a tenacious, aquatic Rodent -- always swimming, digging, or eating in a rich wetland home. It flourishes despite the pressures of civilization and the ever-present trappers who desire its thick, glossy pelt. Watching a Muskrat bite a Moose on the nose and fight with neighbors, we see why it's been likened to a grouchy old man.

Closely related to the Giant Panda, with a dexterity almost human, the Raccoon, Ringtail and Coatimundi each combine in a special way the features of several other animals. Using their bushy tails for balance, and their paws as clever tools, they are Fox-like, Cat-like and Monkey-like all at once. Each is different, yet each is very intelligent and amusingly adapted.

By viewer request, we look at a Bird whose story is woven into our culture. Yet this creature, the Pilgrim's choice for the first Thanksgiving meal, soon became a rarity. Our largest gamebird, with its flamboyant courtship, is a strong flier that prefers to run. We meet the shy Gobblers of our eastern woodlands and their lanky western kin -- forebearers of all domestically raised stock.

Our traditional symbol of Nature's abundance was once feared to be gone as a gamebird due to overhunting by humans and a loss of their habitat. But today, the Wild Turkey is one of game management's greatest success stories. The many who worked so hard for this comeback were perhaps too successful, for some states now worry about having an over-abundance of these birds.