North America hosts a striking and varied panorama of wild creatures found nowhere else on earth. Some of them have ancient claims to being original citizens, while others are recent imports. All are fascinating and are found in every corner of the country. A rare film sequence captures several aspects of America's only Marsupial -- mating behavior, birth and development of the Opossum.

Slow-motion spotlights hummingbirds.

Raccoons, ringtails and coatis.

The silent grandeur of Monument Valley, the ragged chasms of the Grand Canyon, the magnificent sandstone arches of Utah... these spectacular landscapes exert a powerful influence on the wild creatures that live within their realms. Cooper's Hawk, Rattlesnake, Mountain Lion and Gray Fox -- living things are fewer and further between in these vast spaces, but they are all interconnected.

Is this beast really a ravenous monster? The Wolverine is a rarely-glimpsed, and thus much misunderstood, scavenger with tremendous strength. It is the source of many legends. The Indians regarded it as a supernatural being. Here we see the real Wolverine in the rugged land it shares with Wolf, Red Fox and Snowshoe Hare -- and we learn why this wandering loner deserves our respect.

A "Fish" is such a standard shape that we seldom think how ancient, yet how perfectly modern, is this superbly successful design. Here we see its most incredible variations, from the largest "living fossils" -- huge, prehistoric Alligator Gar -- to the smallest -- the dazzlingly colorful Darters. This underwater exploration leaves us marvelling at their adaptations.

From the first -- and smallest -- Refuge, created on Florida's 3-acre Pelican Island in 1902, to the 8,900,000 acres of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, our Refuge system is unmatched by any in the world. In areas from Maine to Arizona, millions of pristine acres have been set aside for native wildlife. We explore these Refuges, as well as many of the creatures that inhabit them.

The slender, luxuriously-furred Fisher is misnamed -- it does not catch fish. Cat-sized members of the Weasel family, Fishers are rare, energetic and playful -- but out of place in anyone's home! This fun-loving story shows how an orphaned pair of these frisky predators were rescued by Marty Stouffer and adopted by his family. They grow up with Marty and Diane's daughter Hannah.

The growing Fishers need to learn how to survive on their own before they can be released into the forest. Marty takes them on regular trips into the mountains that will some day be their home -- each time they go deeper into the wilderness. But the curious Fishers would rather explore and meet new wild friends -- like a Black Bear, Skunk and Mule Deer -- than continue their education.

How did a young wildlife-lover get started making motion pictures of his favorite subject? How does Marty Stouffer film the amazing, yet difficult -- and often dangerous -- scenes for WILD AMERICA? Viewers are invited to learn the secrets of wildlife cinematography -- to share the frustration of failure and the exhilaration of success -- as the behind-the-scenes story is revealed.