(Shameless placement of SDPB Station Relations Manager Katy Beem’s dog, Fernando.)
Dogs have long been dependable companions by our sides. But it wasn’t always that way — and a look at their closest living relative, the wolf, makes it clear why. Researchers reveal how humans tamed fearsome canines over tens of thousands of years, and how modern dog intelligence and behaviors have made them indispensable companions. SDPB1: Wednesday, Feb. 12, 8pm (7 MT) SDPB2: Thursday, Feb. 13, 6pm (5 MT)
(Shameless placement of SDPB Marketing Manager Matti Smith’s cat, Sky.)
They may have stolen many hearts — and the internet — but cats can be perplexing pets. As much cuddly and playful as they are aloof and uncaring, they’ve often raised the question: Did humans ever really domesticate felines? And what more can science tell us about a relationship that predates history? SDPB1: Wednesday, Feb. 19, 8pm (7 MT) SDPB2: Thursday, Feb. 20, 6pm (5 MT)
NATURE premieres The Mighty Weasel. Members of the weasel family are often portrayed as villains and associated with unsavory behavior. But do they deserve this bad reputation? To find out, this film follows the adventures of first-time stoat mom Bandita raising her kits in a unique garden set up; shows tiny orphan weasel Twiz on her journey back to the wild; discovers that a weasel’s bite is even stronger than a tiger’s; and how the fearless honey badger has brains and not just brawn. It’s time to reveal the truth about the weasel family. SDPB1: Wednesday, Feb. 19, 7pm (6 MT)
Photo: Robert E. Fuller
Join renowned paleontologist Kirk Johnson on an epic adventure. Follow a trail of fossils found in all the wrong places, from beech trees in Antarctica to hippo-like mammals in the Arctic. What caused such dramatic changes at the ends of the Earth? And what controls the dial on Earth’s thermostat? Today, the Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else in the world, and Antarctica has locked in its ice enough water to raise sea level by a terrifying 200 feet. Johnson uses Earth’s history as a cipher to decode what is going on today, and what the future may hold. SDPB1: Wednesday, Feb. 5, 7pm (6 MT) SDPB2: Thursday, Feb. 6, 6pm (5 MT) Photo: WGBH/NOVA
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