

Premiering in 1963 broadcast on prime-time from 1968-1971 and airing in syndication until 1988 the Emmy Award-winning Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom was one of the longest-running and most beloved television series of all time. A pioneer of the narrative nature-documentary format the educational series followed venerable host and ecologist Marlin Perkins (later joined by Jim Fowler Peter Gros Stan Brock and Tom Allen) as he trekked to the farthest reaches of the globe to study wild animals in their natural habitats.

Sep 22, 1985 - 24m
Jim Fowler joins Dr. Steve Amstrup to observe the impact on polar bears on the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska by the recent exploration of oil in that area.

Oct 13, 1985 - 24m
Jim Fowler and Peter Gros enter the bayous of Louisiana in the dark of night to capture alligators using a spotlight and their loop nooses to subdue the huge reptiles, some of which measure up to 15-feet long. These dangerous alligator captures are made so the animals can be translocated to the bayous of Arkansas where hunting and poaching have all but eliminated the ancient reptile.

Nov 17, 1985 - 24m
Toward the end of autumn, in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming, a pair of two-year-old black bears are in their final activities prior to entering hibernation for the winter. The show is about the exploring, playing with and encounters with other animals of their habitat.

Dec 8, 1985 - 24m
Tom Allen joins marine scientist Julia Whitty to study a school of wild spotted dolphins in the tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean off the west end of the Grand Bahama Island.

Dec 15, 1985 - 24m
In a delightful species story, a young lynx who has been moving through the Canadian Rockies, is looking for a territory to claim as its own. He roams peaks and valleys and finally locates a high valley in the mountains that has a multitude of rabbits -- his favorite prey. This is a wonderful scenic and active show.

Feb 2, 1986 - 24m
Tom Allen and Jeremiah Sullivan go in search of great white sharks 300 miles off Baja Ca near the island of Guadalupe. They also conduct two research experiments. The first attempts to determine if sharks are more attracted to light or dark colors. The second in a "food preference" test. Sharks are offered the flesh of ocean fish as well as red mammal meat to see which is preferred.

Mar 2, 1986 - 24m
A species show about the three principal cats of Africa -- the cheetah, the lion and the leopard. All three of these cats, who are predators living in the same area, but who also compete for the same food are able to co-exist in the same area because of they way the cats live and hunt. It also shows glimpses at fish eagles, martial eagles and wading birds. A rather remarkable flight and chase between two Thompson gazelles is also a highlight.

Mar 16, 1986 - 24m
Jim Fowler and primatologist Ann Pierce visit Sumatra to look over a government field station in the tropical rainforest where once-captive orangutans are being reintroduced to the wild.

Mar 23, 1986 - 24m
Laura Grove, a girl scout from Milford, Nebraska, goes to Kenya with Jim Fowler to observe how women are instrumental in wildlife conservation in that country. Here she also observes wildlife at Amboseli National Park at the base of the spectacular Mount Kilimanjaro.

Mar 30, 1986 - 24m
Wild Kingdom goes to the country of Tanzania in east Africa to observe the amazing research being done among chimps and baboons in the Gombe Stream National Park by a famous primatologist, Dr. Jane Goodall.

Apr 13, 1986 - 24m
Every year for two weeks in November, Jim following the hurricane season, a huge migration of marine animals occurs in the Pacific Ocean. Hordes of large sharks and giant manta rays migrate southward past Clarion Island. To learn the answer to this secret of the Pacific, Tom Allen and marine biologist Bob Johnson board the research vessel, Ambar III to reach the area and tag the large sharks and giant rays.