When Ralph Helfer and Marshall Thompson had a guest star on this show, they would tell him three things: Don't make a sudden movement, don't make a loud noise, and don't approach the animal until someone who knows more than you do has 'read' him and knows what mood he is in."
Originally, they wanted Ralph Helfer's own daughter Tana Helfer to be the little girl in the pilot episode, because she was able to ride their Zebra Folsom around so well, but Tana hated acting.
When Cheryl Miller first rode Clarence for the opening scene she was little nervous about riding him. So Cheryl very cautiously got aboard the lion trying to look like she rode him everyday while making adjustments to Clarence's very strange, sliding motion. Luckily they got the scene the first time.
Daktari is Swahili for "Doctor".