Watch a preview of the highly anticipated documentary, National Geographic: Expedition Grizzly featuring Casey Anderson; see photos, video here. The program will air on Sunday on May 3, 2009 on National Geographic Channel at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

National Geographic Channel’s Expedition Grizzly featuring Casey Anderson chronicles the efforts of Casey Anderson who has made a full-fledged commitment to the day-by-day study of grizzly bears by living among them. As such he has interacted with them and partaken of some of the food they eat including the Army Cutworth Moth essential in their diet for providing protein and fat.

Prior to the documentary, Anderson had drawn notice for his best friend who happens to be a grizzly bear named Brutus, pictured above and below.

He raised Brutus as a baby, and the grizzly has since grown up and weighing in, as a seven year old, at 800 pounds. When Casey Anderson married actress Missi Pyle (‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’) in August 2008, Brutus was the best man.

Casey Anderson, his wife, Missy Pyle and Brutus (Photo credit © Rick Smith / Grizzly Creek Films)

Casey Anderson was born in Helena, Montana in 1975, coincidentally the same year that the grizzly bear was put on the endangered species list. He has had a livelong passion for animals and studied biology in college. He has been working professionally with animals since he was a teenager. He discussed his passion for grizzlies in an interview.

They posses a great amount of emotion and thought. Grizzly bears are very conscience. They are each as individual as people in their personalities. This combination of intelligence, emotion, power, and speed is simply awe inspiring. I always said that grizzly bears are only thumbs away from taking over the world.

See more of the interview here: Q&A with Casey Anderson

Casey Anderson and Brutus in Bozeman, Montana. (Photo credit © Rick Smith / Grizzly Creek Films)

Casey Anderson founded Montana Grizzly Encounter animal sanctuary. He has said in interviews that Expedition Grizzly fulfills a dream to do more intensive study of Grizzlies. For the filming of the documentary Casey Anderson and Brutus, spent a year with the 600 or so grizzlies who live in Yellowstone National Park, essentially living as if on an island, as they are surrounded on all sides by roads and human populations.

In the documentary, which Casey Anderson narrated, he focused his study on the health of the grizzly bear population in Yellowstone, and sought to determine if climate change threatens their food supply. He observed survival strategies of the grizzlies from a distance, while Brutus serves to demonstrate up-close grizzly anatomy, strength and behavior. He also wanted to dispel negative stereotypes with the Expedition Grizzly documentary. He noted in the aforementioned interview that the grizzlies get attention for bad behavior, while people are often unaware of their true characteristics.

See the National Geographic Channel Web site for an overview of the National Geographic: Expedition Grizzly program and more photos.

Casey Anderson and Brutus are also featured in an article in the Daily Mail. See: Meet Brutus, the 800lb grizzly bear who likes to eat his meals at the dinner table

For many more Casey Anderson pictures and Brutus pictures see:

• Photo Gallery: Brutus and Me
• Photo Gallery ‘Bear With Us‘ (behind the scenes photos)

Top photo: Bozeman, Montana. Casey Anderson and Brutus. (Photo credit © Rick Smith / Grizzly Creek Films)

Watch National Geographic: Expedition Grizzly featuring Casey Anderson video below.

Video “800 Pound Best Friend” – What if your best friend was a 800-pound grizzly bear? Video Link





Video “Big Bear vs. Little Bears” – While watching two young bears navigate around an adult male, Casey finds himself caught up in the action. Video Link

Video “Delicious Moths” – Bears feast on late-summer moths with such voracity that Casey decides to taste one for himself. Video Link

Photos and video courtesy of National Geographic Channel

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National Geographic: Expedition Grizzly featuring Casey Anderson (Video, Photos)