The Shannon is Ireland’s greatest geographical landmark and the longest river. It is both a barrier and highway – a silver ribbon holding back the rugged landscapes of the west from the gentler plains to the east. The Shannon passes through a huge palette of rural landscapes, where on little-known backwaters, Ireland’s wild animals and plants still thrive as almost nowhere else.

A rubbish dump provides a wealth of entertainment for zoologist Low de Vries as honey badgers chase off porcupines, jackals, and even a large hyena who wander in hoping to share in the spoils.

“Honey badger is bad ass.” Those words and corresponding video became a YouTube sensation with 51 million hits. This relentless little creature is renowned for its ability to confront grown lions, castrate charging buffalo, and shrug off the toxic defenses of stinging bees, scorpions, and snakes. Little is known about its behavior in the wild or why it is so aggressive.

Wildlife conservationist Brian Jones attempts to keep clever honey badgers from escaping a customized pen, but it’s not a simple task: matching wits and determination with his adopted honey badger has kept Jones busy and full of admiration for more than 20 years.

This is Cason's Make a Wish story: meeting a wolverine. He's been living with Bronchiolitis Obliterans, which has left 9-year-old Cason a body the size of a 6-year-old boy. After watching NATURE's Wolverine: Chasing the Phantom, he was touched and inspired. So it was his wish to go to Haines, Alaska, and meet Steve Kroschel, a wildlife rehabilitator, and the two wolverine pups he raised.

There is an unusual looking monkey called the crested black macaque that is endemic to rainforests in Indonesia, which includes the island of Sulawesi. These striking black primates first caught the attention of wildlife cameraman and biologist Colin Stafford-Johnson 25 years ago. But since then, their numbers have dropped by almost 90 percent, so the filmmaker returns to the island to help.

The coywolf, a mixture of western coyote and eastern wolf, is a remarkable new hybrid carnivore that is taking over territories once roamed by wolves and slipping unnoticed into our cities. Its appearance is very recent — within the last 90 years — in evolutionary terms, a blip in time. Beginning in Canada but by no means ending there, the story of how it came to be is an extraordinary tale of how

The coywolf, a mixture of western coyote and eastern wolf, is a remarkable new hybrid carnivore that is taking over territories once roamed by wolves and slipping unnoticed into our cities. Its appearance is very recent — within the last 90 years — in evolutionary terms, a blip in time.

Follow researchers as they document the coywolf in New York City.

NATURE Thanksgiving Eve featuring “My Life as a Turkey”, “An Original DUCKumentary” and “The Private Life of Deer” all starts Wednesday Nov 27 at 8/7c.

Geoffrey was born at the ARA Project, a macaw conservation group in Central Costa Rica. His mother was an ex-pet and his father was poached from the wild. When his mother abandoned her eggs, Geoffrey had to be raised in an incubator. When Geoffrey is old enough, he will be released into the wild. Until then, he is being taught all the things that he will need to know to survive as a wild macaw.

Moluccan Cockatoos are an endangered species. In the 1980s, an estimated 74,000+ birds were exported from Indonesia to supply the pet trade. Today, poaching is still a reality, but moluccans are also threatened by loss of habitat. Dolly was captive-born, originally purchased by a man with a parrot collection and soon put up for adoption. In her new home, Dolly and her owner are inseparable.

From the wilds of Costa Rica to suburban America, a lovable, quirky cast of parrots will reveal their unforgettable tales and the bittersweet world they share with humans. Nature explores the difficulties of caring for parrots.

Basil was taken from the wild as a chick in Honduras in 1987. He was shipped to a quarantine station in Florida, probably with other chicks — many of whom would not have survived. It’s estimated that 70% of wild-caught parrots died before ever reaching the pet store. Basil survived the odds and finally landed in Massachusetts with a happy and loving family.

During mating rituals, male Blue-Footed Boobies show off their feet to prospective mates with a high-stepping strut. The bluer the feet, the more attractive the mate. Love in the Animal Kingdom premieres Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 8/7c (check local listings).