Animals and Wildlife

1940s

Sheepdog trials in London, 1949

Thousands of Londoners visit Hyde Park to see the sheepdog trials

1950s

New Forest Wild Pony Round-Up, 1951

Wild horses couldn't drag Newsreel away from this annual event

Tits stealing milk, 1958

Britain was being overrun by tits. No milk bottle was safe from avaricious avians

1960s

Tame badger in Yorkshire, 1961

Tonight tells the tale of Yogi, the terrifically tame Bugthorpe badger

Shooters Hill cheetah, 1963

Everybody in England turned out to chase an imaginary cheetah at Shooters Hill, near Woolwich

How well do shepherds know their flock? 1963

Tonight conducted a fascinating "sheep recognition" experiment. Play along at home, but try not to fall asleep

1970s

Ajax and Rhyme, 1970

Shire horses are the most economical way to transport beer barrels through London

A sex change for Bruno, 1971

"He's an immensely masculine LOOKING dog..." Bruno the dog was having a sex change

Paw it forward, 1973

Two cats (with their own chequebook) make a conscience payment to the RSPB. This might be peak Nationwide.

'Boozy' the snail, 1974

A beer drinking Giant African Snail nicknamed 'Boozy' was the star of BBC1 for one evening at least. * Please do not try this at home to any gastropods at hand *

Camberley Kate and her 24 dogs, 1975

"Stray spaniels, lonely labradors, absolutely any kind of down-at-heel dog finds a welcome"

Bugs bunny in quarantine, 1975

What's up, doc?

Rover the crocodile, 1977

Say hello to Rover, who is definitely a dog... he has a dog bowl and everything

Killer fish of Ickham, 1977

Army set explosives for the 'monster of Ickham Pond'

Real ale: Worth crowing about? 1977

"He certainly seems to like lager..."

Herbie the skateboarding duck, 1978

Shot to stardom on Nationwide in 1978, sadly Herbie quacked his last quack five years later

1980s

Balls the fruit bat, 1982

Kieran Prendiville meets zoologist and pterodactyl expert Cherrie Bramwell, and her pet, Balls the fruit bat

Theo the talking dog, 1983

This French poodle can say four words in English, allegedly

Koko the Gorilla, 1985

Koko the gorilla is said to be able to communicate with humans, using more than 1,000 hand signs

Electric jacket for lambs, 1986

Sounds baa-rking, but we shouldn't lamb-ast this innovative farmer for inventing electric jackets

Sparkie the champion ex-budgie, 1986

Mrs Williams and her champion ex-budgie Sparkie appear on Pet Watch.. no, this is not Monty Python

Imported turtles warning, 1987

The Thames Water Authority issued a warning about ferocious, man-sized snapping turtles that could take your arm off

The donkey theatre star, 1987

Cecil the donkey likes to mule over a pint after a 24 carrot performance. It really is donkey work!

Full programmes

Elsa the Lioness

David Attenborough meets Elsa the lioness in Kenya, shortly before Elsa's death.

Wild Africa

Revealing the varied habitats of Africa and the wildlife that lives there.

Wild China

Documentary exposing the wonderful creatures that live in China's beautiful landscapes

More archive things

Nature and Environment

Explore the changing world about us, from the jungle to the polar ice caps

Children's

See how programmes for younger viewers have changed with the times

Science and technology

The inventions and discoveries that transformed our world.. and the ones that didn't