On a visit to a Botswana watering hole, Wild Chronicles' Boyd Matson videotaped pachyderms frolicking like few have ever observed before. Credit: Video by Public Television's Wild Chronicles, from National Geographic Mission Programs. (c) 2008 National Geographic (AP)

Reviled by many, Ruppell’s griffon vultures are true survivors on Africa’s Serengeti plains. At times one of the world’s richest meadows, the Serengeti’s rich grasses wither in the dry season. Riding high on the wind, vultures monitor the great cycle of life and death, awaiting a feast for their growing families.

In order to reign in an aggressive Australian shepherd, Cesar gives the dog a taste of its own herding tactics.

Officials in South Korea have high hopes for the noses of seven Labrador retrievers cloned from a star drug-sniffing canine. (c) 2008 National Geographic (AP)

In Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, Wild Chronicles follows adventurer Jon Krakauer across 40 miles of barren landscape to witness the challenge of his lifetime. Troubled by a tragedy on Mount Everest that took the lives of several of his friends, Krakauer hopes to conquer not only a mountain that has never been scaled before, but his personal doubts as well.

Kakouma National Park in southeastern Chad is home to one of the few viable elephant populations in Africa, but these massive beasts are in trouble. Wild Chronicles presents exclusive footage as National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Mike Fay puts his life on the line, evading gun-wielding poachers, to save these majestic animals.

Kakouma National Park in southeastern Chad is home to one of the few viable elephant populations in Africa, but these massive beasts are in trouble. Wild Chronicles presents exclusive footage as National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Mike Fay puts his life on the line, evading gun-wielding poachers, to save these majestic animals.

A girl born with two faces in India is a form of conjoined twin. Villagers are revering her as a reincarnation of a Hindu goddess. (c) 2008 National Geographic (AP)

A girl born with two faces in India is a form of conjoined twin. Villagers are revering her as a reincarnation of a Hindu goddess. (c) 2008 National Geographic (AP)

The rare Asiatic lion cub born at a Japanese zoo is one of only about 300 left in the world. (c) 2008 National Geographic (AP)