ORANGE — Youtube is a treasure trove of great video content from the past and I frequently scour it in search of things I remember from childhood and to find various wildlife footage.

Last week I spent an hour watching footage from my favorite program as a child growing up, “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”.

From the middle 60s up to the late 1980s, hosts Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler brought incredible wildlife footage from around the world and introduced many, many young people to creatures great and small.

Looking back I realized my memory served me correctly in that Perkins usually stayed in the jeep while Fowler went and tangled with the animals. Of course that was sort of their gimmick and if you bring up “Wild Kingdom” today that seems to be the most common memory.

While fishing and hunting programs are great, the truth is shows like “Wild Kingdom” reach a far greater audience and serve to introduce many more children to the outdoors than the average fishing show could ever accomplish.

An exception to the rule is modern day ratings juggernaut “River Monsters” hosted by Jeremy Wade. It is the highest rated show in the history of the Animal Planet network and has legions of young fans around the world interested in fishing because of the incredible footage and the inspiring storytelling of Wade.

It is definitely not a fishing show like “Bill Dance Outdoors” or a host of others but it is all about fishing and the kids love it.

“Shark Men” is another one. And in fact these may be the only people in the world that make me a bit jealous. They go around catching great white sharks and fitting them with satellite transmitters to track their movements and help the scientific community gain a better understanding of their mysterious life.

How cool would that be?

Once again, legions of children are excited about sharks and even fishing because of the program.

Numerous programs unfortunately have an anti-hunting slant to them albeit usually a subtle one and that is a shame since hunting has such an important role in wildlife conservation.

Others ignore the subject of fishing and hunting altogether but have high quality wildlife content.

Who could forget the late Steve “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin and his great sense of humor and huge passion for wildlife? I always enjoyed his program and mourned at his passing. He was one of a kind.

My favorite program of all-time was a short lived one called “Austin Stevens: Snakemaster”.

Herpetologist and snake handle Austin Stevens traveled the world and photographed the most dangerous, exotic and large snakes and other reptiles. I am reading his book now entitled “The Last Snake Man” and it fascinating.

To get the unforgettable footage of him interacting with a 14-foot long king cobra in India it took him 37 straight days in the wild. You have to appreciate that kind of dedication. I know I do.

Going back farther who could forget the exploits of the late ocean pioneer and scuba inventor Jacques Cousteau?

The world has far more knowledge of the ocean thanks to this great man who raised awareness to many key issues.

My favorite current host has been around awhile. “Jungle” Jack Hannah does an incredible job of tying in fun-loving animal antics, education and conservation.

I saw him speak at the Lutcher Theater in Orange a few years ago and as truly impressed.

Which wildlife hosts do you enjoy? Are there any current stars that inspire you? Who did you enjoy most from the past?

I would love find our your favorites so e-mail them to me at cmooreoutdoors@yahooo.com.

(To contact Chester Moore, e-mail him at cmooreoutdoors@yahoo.com. You can hear him on "Moore Outdoors" Fridays from 6-7 p.m. on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI. you can find him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/extremewildlife.)