AMERICA THE WILD with Casey Anderson Returns to Nat Geo WILD Tonight

A little squeezing through coffin-tight passages, trekking through jungles and training a grizzly bear? No problem, Casey is your man. Wildlife expert and naturalist Casey Anderson doesn't have an average job. He lives and breathes wildlife in all forms. Premiering tonight, August 18, 2013, at 10 p.m. ET/PT, Nat Geo WILD's popular series, America the Wild returns for another season of close encounters with wildlife in our backyards. Casey treks across North America and gets up close with wolves, mountain lions, moose, bighorn sheep and other elusive and endangered species.

A new season brings new adventures for this Montana boy. Not afraid to get in The Middle of a herd of cattle or in front of a mountain lion in search of its next prey, Casey is on a mission to track down wildlife roaming our mountains, jungles and deserts. From Canada's wild West Coast to the scorching New Mexican desert, Casey is on a quest to learn how these animals adapt and survive in their sometimes brutal and unforgiving ecosystems.

We'll follow Casey as he travels to Canada to get to the bottom of the many types of wolf breeds wandering our land to determine if they really are considered pure wolves. In the barren desert Southwest, Casey pushes through thorny cactus and rugged terrain to stop the mountain lion, a predator he loves, from devastating fragile populations of bighorn sheep. In Texas, he wades through mountains of bat guano and squeezes through coffin-tight passages deep underground searching for vampire bats. And, of course, the quest to uncover details about the grizzly bear continues. But this is no ordinary grizzly - it's a bold, aggressive predator, concealing itself in a cloak of darkness - a "night grizzly." Watch your back, because this is the big, scary bear that creeps up on you while you're sitting around a campfire. And, he's not there to share a s'more!

Premiere episodes include:

America the Wild: Monster Wolf Premieres Sunday, August 18, at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Wolves have been around for centuries, but with so many variations in the wild, what's really considered a wolf? Casey scours Canada's wild West Coast for clues to reveal what is behind a rash of bold wolf behavior on Vancouver Island. He treks to Tofino, where wolves routinely push the limits of hunting and killing backyard pets. Rumor has it, Tofino's wolves aren't typical wolves, but Casey wants to know if these so-called "monster wolves" are wolves at all. To uncover the truth, he heads north to track and observe the "fishing wolves," perhaps the wildest and most genetically pure wolves in the world. Then, in New Mexico, Casey is able to observe differences between purebred wolves, hybrid wolves and the broad spectrum of wolf-dogs that fall somewhere in between. He's putting his tracking skills to the test to reveal the truth about wolves.

America the Wild: Mountain Lion vs. Bighorn Premieres Sunday, August 25, at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Is there a way for the mountain lion and bighorn sheep to make peace in the American West? Casey is our man on a mission to discover what it will take for America's bighorn sheep to reclaim a home on the range. But their population grows under the threatening shadow of one of Casey's favorite predators: the mountain lion. Immersing himself in the extreme world of the bighorn - where humans are not invited - Casey works to collar pregnant bighorns to help track the mother when she gives birth. But once a newborn arrives, he only has 48 Hours to collar the lamb in order to monitor the population for years to come. It's a race against time, as the first few hours are when bighorn lambs are most vulnerable to predators. Will he be able to reach them before it's too late?

America the Wild: American Vampire Premieres Sunday, September 1, at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Vampires and vampire bats have one thing in common: they feed exclusively on blood. Hacking through the jungles on the banks of the Rio Usumacinta in Mexico, Casey follows caver Scott Davis. Twenty years ago, Scott discovered a cave he dubbed "the torture chamber." Of course, we have to find it! The two are hit with waves of bats descending and engulfing them. He catches and identifies fruit-eating and insectivorous bats, but he cannot spot a single vampire. Casey just may be in luck when a local rancher has found telltale signs of an attack: oozing wounds where a vampire has made an incision and fed. Glowing wings approach. The attack begins on cattle at midnight. Among the vampires and the cattle, Casey is vulnerable. But here, in the dark, he'll finally be able to untangle truth from tale - to prepare for the arrival of the vampires.

America the Wild is produced by Grizzly Creek Films, LLC, for National Geographic Channels. Executive producers for Grizzly Creek Films, LLC, are Casey Anderson and Thomas Winston. For Nat Geo WILD, executive producers are Ashley Hoppin and David Hamlin, and general manager is Geoff Daniels.

Casey Anderson also serves as a wildlife expert with National Geographic Expeditions on an 8-day voyage to explore the pristine wilderness of Alaska's Inside Passage aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird. For more information on this extraordinary travel opportunity, please visit ngexpeditions.com/explorealaska. For more information on Casey Anderson, please visit www.caseyanderson.tv.

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