The BEST episodes of Daktari
Every episode of Daktari ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Daktari!
Daktari (Swahili for "doctor") was a television series that aired on CBS from 1966 to 1969, featuring Marshall Thompson as Dr. Marsh Tracy, a veterinarian at the fictional Wameru Study Center for Animal Behavior in East Africa. The show followed the work of Dr. Tracy, his daughter Paula (Cheryl Miller), and his staff, who were frequently forced to protect animals from poachers and local officials. Tracy's pets, a cross-eyed lion named Clarence and chimpanzee Judy, were also popular characters. Daktari was based upon the 1965 film Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion, which also starred Thompson as Dr. Tracy.
#1 - Adventure of the Lions Cubs
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/1/1966
Dr. Tracy and Jack Dane come across three lion cubs whose mother has been snared in a poacher's trap.
#2 - The Killer Lion
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/25/1966
A game guard's old pet lioness's increasing irritability culminates in an attack on a farmer.
#3 - The Hostages
Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 4/19/1966
Clarence the lion and Judy the chimp are kidnapped and held for ransom.
#4 - Trail of the Cheetah
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/8/1966
While Janet Lorne is visiting Wameru, an escaped murderer is reported in the vicinity.
#5 - Return Of The Killer, Part 1
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/22/1966
After escaping from prison, Roy Meadows, a wounded killer, heads for Wameru to receive medical aid.
#6 - Return Of The Killer, Part 2
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 3/29/1966
Held at gunpoint, Paula must try to remove a bullet from escaped killer Roy Meadows.
#7 - Predator of Wameru
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/18/1966
Dr. Tracy sets out after a poacher, who has set dozens of animal traps all over the reserve.
#8 - Leopard of Mdala Gorge
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/15/1966
A professional hunter joins an archaeological expedition, with the job of killing all predatory animals near the camp.
#9 - Judy And The Hyena
Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 4/26/1966
Judy the chimp, who was once bitten by a hyena, gets nervous, scared and agitated when she sees Paul and Jack bring in an injured hyena pup. Dr. Tracy has a difficult time keeping Judy calm enough so he can treat the hyena.
#10 - The Elephant Thieves
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/11/1966
A baby elephant heads for Dr. Tracy's study center after a trapper kills its mother.
#11 - The Elephant Raid: Part 1
Season 3 - Episode 15 - Aired 12/12/1967
When Wameru is threatened by a stampeding elephant herd that has already destroyed a village, a government expert (who is also an old Army friend of Dr. Tracy) plans to kill off the herd against Dr. Tracy's wishes.
#12 - The Elephant Raid: Part 2
Season 3 - Episode 16 - Aired 12/19/1967
Dr. Tracy and his friends race against time to keep a destructive elephant herd from being destroyed by land mines and incendiary charges, while also trying to keep the herd from destroying the Wameru compound.
#13 - Miracle in the Jungle
Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 12/26/1967
A man on the run from the law slips into Wameru to retrieve stolen money he had previously buried there, but when he is frightened away by Clarence the lion, Judy the chimp takes the money and Dr. Tracy ends up being arrested for possession of it.
#14 - Riddle of the Bush
Season 3 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/2/1968
A stranger shows up on the sight where Jack and Paula are exploring an elephant graveyard.
#15 - The Big Switch
Season 3 - Episode 19 - Aired 1/9/1968
When Judy the chimp gives a revitalizing serum to an old native chief who has been banished from his tribe, he comes up with a plan to regain his honor: he's going to singlehandedly kill a lion.
#16 - License to Kill
Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 1/16/1968
After being unexpectedly attacked by a lioness at Wameru, a retired boxer turned game hunter gets a permit to track her down and kill her. But Tracy is determined to find the lioness first and discover the reason for her strange behavior.
#17 - Judy Strikes Back
Season 3 - Episode 21 - Aired 1/23/1968
Dr. Tracy installs an electronic alarm system to protect more than $1 million worth of vaccines. Judy the chimp, angry that she's lost her job as guard, leads a protest against the new system that's replaced her.
#18 - The Killer Cub
Season 3 - Episode 22 - Aired 1/30/1968
Local ranchers, angry that a cheetah Dr. Tracy is treating has killed some of their cattle, give him a week to get the animal to stop, or they'll take care of the cheetah themselves.
#19 - The Killer Tribe
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/3/1967
A search party is sent out to look for Judy the chimp when it's discovered that she has left the compound with a stranger suspected of being a member of a very dangerous tribe.
#20 - Toto the Great
Season 3 - Episode 23 - Aired 2/13/1968
When Judy douses Toto with elephant scent to test its value as a repellent to predators, it inadvertently leads to a tribal chief and medicine man becoming convinced that the baby chimp is the reincarnation of their god.
#21 - Clarence's Love-In
Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/5/1967
Clarence the lion runs away and joins a pride of three wild lionesses he meets in the bush, forcing him to choose between remaining in the wild with them or returning to his Wameru home.
#22 - Judy and the Wizard
Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 11/28/1967
Dr. Tracy and his friends try to help an aging magician, whose chimpanzee is getting too old to perform.
#23 - Return of Ethel and Albert
Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/21/1967
Ethel the hippopotamus and Albert the donkey accidentally escape from Wameru into the bush together, and risk becoming a leopard's prey.
#24 - Judy and the Thoroughbred
Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/14/1967
Dr. Tracy clashes with an Italian countess who, in striving to win races, has mistreated her champion race horse and caused it to go lame.
#25 - One of Our Cubs is Missing
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/7/1967
When Jack and Mike release a rescued lion cub back into the jungle over Paula's objections, Paula first sends Judy the chimp to guard the cub and later goes herself, ending up in a dangerous situation.