Beastly History

Nellie Chapman has an extraordinary way of drawing a crowd. Born into the strange and spectacular world of 19th Century travelling menageries, she rises to fame as one of Britain's most celebrated lion tamers. Performing inside the cage with some of the world's most feared predators, Nellie captivates audiences eager for a glimpse of danger. A performance for Queen Victoria offers the chance of a...

(Content warning: please be aware this episode includes discussion of suicide). It's 1140pm in the North Atlantic Ocean, April 14 1912, when Titanic lookout Fred Fleet first glimpses a hulking great mass of ice looming out of the darkness. He desperately warns the crew with the famous words "Iceberg! Right Ahead!" But it's already too late.  Many things went wrong in the build...

Rory Carragh has a deadly reputation. He hunts wolves, and he’s very good at it. Now he faces his toughest challenge yet. Two large wolves keep taking sheep in a remote mountain village, and the people are getting desperate. These elusive wolves are said to be among the last in County Tyrone. For Carragh, success means reward and status. But failure could cost him everything. In this episode, we j...

It’s 1901. Writer Arthur Conan Doyle is on holiday when he first hears whispers of a chilling local legend - spectral hounds said to tear across the wilds of Dartmoor under cover of darkness. A tale of an evil squire. A cursed family. And a pack of demonic dogs haunting the moors. We’re delving into the story of how this eerie West Country folklore inspired one of the greatest gothic thriller...

Welcome to Beastly History – the podcast where you’ll hear the most thrilling tales of people and the wild. Perilous polar expeditions. Unbelievable survival stories. The true origins of animal myths and legends. And natural history’s heroes, villains and oddballs. Join me, wildlife producer Michelle Douglass as we investigate the juicy, mysterious and gripping history of our planet and our place...