When bears, wolves and foxes are your only neighbors, life can be pretty lonely. Add minus-60-degree days and a constant battle for the most basic necessities, and you have the daily challenges of people who live in remote corners of Alaska. This series takes viewers deep into an Alaskan winter to meet tough, resilient residents as they try to stay one step ahead of storms and man-eating beasts to survive the season. The closest neighbor to Sue Aikens is more than 300 miles away. Eric Salitan subsists solely on what he hunts and forages. Chip and Agnes Hailstone catch fish for currency in bartering for supplies, and Andy and Kate Bassich use their pack of sled dogs for transportation. Also highlighted is a time of year not always part of what viewers see in Alaska: spring! Ice is breaking, animals are waking, and residents face new tests before deep cold returns.

Investigating the world's most clever and savage predators.

Dr. Jan Pol has been a practicing veterinarian for more than half his life. In 1981 he and his wife, Diane, opened a vet business out of their home, and over the years it has grown to service more than 19,000 clients. Set in Central Michigan's farm country, this reality series follows the work done at Pol Veterinary Services. Specializing in large farm animals, Dr. Pol treats horses, pigs, cows, sheep, alpacas, goats, chickens and even an occasional reindeer. The program also features Dr. Brenda Grettenberger, who has worked with Dr. Pol since 1992.

National Geographic Channel turns its state-of-the-art cameras on America for a close-up of its national parks. More than three years in the making, the eight-part series goes beyond the homegrown beauty to allow viewers to witness moments full of drama, watch stories of life and death, and discover hidden gems in high-tech ways heretofore never presented on TV. Each hourlong episode features one park, from the geysers of Yellowstone and the hot desert of Saguaro to the sprawling Smoky Mountains and world-famous Grand Canyon.

The 1990s had remarkable highs and lows: Technology paved the way for a digital world, and the ranks of billionaires grew fast. But the Columbine massacre, al-Qaida threat, and Clinton scandals also happened. On the heels of its popular miniseries deconstructing the 1980s, National Geographic Channel delves into 10 years when the Web was wide open but before global terror hit hard. "The '90s: The Last Great Decade?" features 120 original interviews -- from unsung heroes of riveting stories, to notables in many fields -- and memorable clips of a time between the end of the Cold War and the approaching War on Terror.

Silicon Valley circa 1990s was a technology breeding ground that attracted visionaries and charlatans alike, spawning some of the world's most influential people and recognizable brands. Set during that time, this six-part limited series follows the turbulent ride of three different companies whose founders were trying to change the world using the emergent technology of the internet. Creator, director and executive producer Matthew Carnahan ("House of Lies") employs a hybrid of scripted storytelling and documentary interviews with the key players whose stories are dramatized in the show. Emmy winner Bradley Whitford ("The West Wing") leads the ensemble cast.

Patrolling America's largest state is the job of roughly 400 troopers in one of the toughest law enforcement agencies in the nation. Essentially, these cops say, nearly every Alaskan resident is armed and they know how to use their weapons, which makes any scenario a trooper encounters a potentially fatal one. Follow along as the "blue shirt" Alaskan State Troopers police the towns and villages, and the "brown shirt" Alaska Wildlife Troopers enforce regulations covering both commercial and sport fishing and hunting activities.

Making house calls in the far reaches of Northern Canada is a daunting task in the least, considering the houses may be separated by hundreds of miles. That challenge doesn't stop Dr. Michelle Oakley from performing her many duties as a veterinarian in one of the most rugged environments on Earth. In addition to running an animal clinic out of her home in Haines Junction, Yukon -- where she lives with husband Shane and their three daughters -- Dr. Oakley also operates a satellite clinic 150 miles away and is the on-call vet for the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, which is about 100 miles from Haines Junction. She also makes house calls, sometimes driving for long stretches through desolate wilderness to check on a patient. This series documents how Dr. Oakley juggles being a full-time vet, wife and mom, and does so with a sense of humor and devotion.

Consistently stunning documentaries transport viewers to far-flung locations ranging from the torrid African plains to the chilly splendors of icy Antarctica. The show's primary focus is on animals and ecosystems around the world. A comic book based on the show, meant to be used an as educational tool for kids, was briefly distributed to museums and schools at no cost in the mid-2000s.

In the varied forms of veterinary medicine, Dr. Susan Kelleher's practice may be one of the more unusual. Known as Dr. K, she runs South Florida's Broward Avian and Exotics Animal Hospital, and this series follows the staff as it cares for rabbits, ferrets, foxes, fish, birds, reptiles, marsupials, and even primates. As do some other vets, Kelleher thinks domesticating wild animals like monkeys is a bad idea, but that feeling doesn't interfere with her taking care of them: "If it will fit through the door, I'll treat it," she says.

Unlocking ancient Egypt's greatest mysteries.

Throughout America's coastline shark attacks are on the rise. Many occur in quick succession at new and surprising locations. As vacationers, scientists and locals are all desperate to uncover what is causing the upsurge, National Geographic Channel investigates the attacks to see what is affecting some of nature's most feared fish. The deep-sea saga employs underwater photography, news archives and testimony to deep dive into mysterious and deadly recent shark attacks.

Put up your dukes -- er, paws -- and prepare to discover epic, bone-shattering clashes between some of the world's deadliest predators. From lions, tigers and bears to meerkats, mongoose and mice, the series features testosterone-induced battles between some of the biggest, baddest and often surprising fighters in the animal kingdom, revealing the extraordinary motivations and strategies that fuel each incredible brawl.

One of the largest and most popular zoos in the U.S., Ohio's renowned Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and its conservation park The Wilds, houses more than 10,000 animals on 12,000 acres. It's also the part-time home of beloved wildlife guru Jack Hanna, the zoo's director emeritus. Now, Nat Geo Wild is taking viewers inside the grounds and allowing them to experience what visitors can't: compelling, heartwarming stories, and behind-the-scenes moments and adventures. "Secrets of the Zoo" introduces both the animals and the legions of workers who create unforgettable connections between people and wildlife.

The coastal city of Durban in South Africa is known for sandy beaches, warm weather -- and snakes! Residents are under attack from a plague of deadly reptiles, including the notorious black mamba, but they should have no fear because of Simon Keys and Siouxsie Gillett. "Snake City" follows the reptile-wrangling couple who respond to the desperate calls of terrified residents who have encountered slithery serpents in and around their homes.

Maritime mysteries -- old and new -- come to life in this 10-episode series, combining scientific data and digital re-creations to reveal shipwrecks, treasures, and sunken cities on the bottom of lakes, seas and oceans around the world. Innovative technology allows viewers to see what lies on the floors of large bodies of water such as the Gulf of Mexico, the Nile, the Indian Ocean, the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean as if they had been drained. Then, in a quest to explain natural wonders and man-made catastrophes, stories tell of how vessels sank, what ancient geological formations reveal about life on Earth, where Nazi secrets now reside, and why so many continue to search for the legendary city of Atlantis.

The story of capital punishment through the eyes of young people whose lives have been shaped by it.

Suspenseful nature stories begin just before sunset and end just after sunrise; from Costa Rica to Indonesia to the swamps across the United States, creatures of the night battle for survival when the sun goes down.

Dream adventures turn into hellish nightmares for the travelers featured in this series, which recounts through firsthand interviews and re-enactments terror-filled experiences of being arrested in a foreign country, usually for drug smuggling, and how they coped with the resulting lengthy prison terms. Viewers also hear from people directly involved with the arrests, whether it's the undercover agents gathering the evidence against the suspects, or the people making the drug dealing offers.

This series unveils the engineering secrets of various iconic megastructures that went on to spark a technological revolution, ultimately changing warfare forever. The Nazis built some of the biggest and deadliest pieces of military hardware in history. Adolf Hitler hired men like Wernher von Braun, Ferdinand Porsche and Alfred Krupp to build huge terror machines, high-tech superguns and weapons of mass destruction.

From the Arctic Ocean and its isolated Islands to the bleak, barren tundra and frozen forests of the taiga, the Arctic region is locked in ice for more than half of the year; in summer, this land of contrast bursts into life.