Hi. My freind keeps telling me about all the great animals that used to be kept at london zoo, could anyone replie:
Cat-Man, be prepared for a long list in this thread! London Zoo has held such a varied collection over the years... From the top of my head: Chimpanzees Orang Utans Asian and African Elephants Black, White, Indian Rhinos River Hippo Polar Bear Giant Panda American Black Bear Asiatic Black Bear Kodiak Bear Sloth Bear African Lions Jaguar Koala (?) Gaur Arabian Oryx Bongo Markhor Grey Wolf Echidna (?) Vampire Bats Douc Langur Sealions (not sure which species) Red Panda Wild Boar Leopard (not sure which kinds though) American Bison etc, etc
The Clore Pavilion has almost been a zoo in itself. Over the years I can remember seeing:- greater and lesser tree shrews Mayotte brown lemurs talapoins yellow-throated marten short-eared elephant shrew common wombat parma wallabies Goodfellow's tree kangaroo Malabar giant squirrel weasel dusky titis margay angwantibo slender loris slow loris potto lesser, red and fat-tailed mouse lemurs Senegal and greater galagos (these species have been split up a lot recently) douroucouli kowari hog badger Chinese ferret badger brush-tailed possum striped possum kiwi Plus more rodents than you can shake a stick at - striped grass mice, spiny mice, nile rats, dormice (several species), cuis and a few species that have become popular pets - dwarf hamsters, degu and clawed jird (= Mongolian gerbil) I think I liked the angwantibo and the kowari best. Alan
I looked in my copy of Golden Days Historic Photographs of London Zoo and found photos of lantern fly (family Fulgoridae) 1927 pike 1932 green turtle 1933 American alligator 1928 Jackson's three-horned chameleon 1926 komodo dragon 1928 four-lined snake 1938 Russell's viper 1934 ostrich 1914 king penguin 1914 black-footed penguin 1924 little egret 1928 shoebill 1926 adjutant stork 1923 red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) 1922 changeable hawk eagle 1923 kagu 1921 barn owl 1928 tawny frogmouth 1921 duck-billed platypus 1928 thylacine 1913 slender loris 1926 aye-aye 1913 hamadryas baboon 1923 Bornean orang utan 1916 giant anteater 1923 wolf 1935 brown bear 1927 grizzly bear 1924 giant panda 1939 red panda no date kinkajou 1923 fossa 1913 caracal 1924 puma 1938 lion 1921 tiger 1935 leopard 1915 black leopard 1922 walrus 1923 californian sealion 1924 Asian elephant 1926 African elephant 1927 Indian rhinoceros 1913 Sumatran rhinoceros c.1910 Grevy's zebra 1927 Grant's zebra 1914 Damara zebra 1914 quagga c.1840 Prezwalski's horse 1927 common hippopotamus 1927 pygmy hippopotamus 1913 llama 1923 bactrian camel 1924 giraffe 1928 okapi 1935 takin 1923
as well as the ones already mentioned....these species were still present until the early 1980s at least, with a few such as the maned wolves, nyala and binturong appearing briefly in the collection in the 1990s Bighorn sheep Barbary sheep Mouflon Brown Pelican Wild boar Collared peccary Lowland tapir vicuna american alligator przewalski horse nyala greater kudu blackbuck roan antelope american bison canadian beaver bateleur eagle lappet-faced vulture marabou stork lar gibbon mandrill pig-tailed macaque red ruffed lemur mayotte brown lemur Hamlyns monkey Puma Maned wolf Bennett's cassowary Single-wattled cassowary Chilean Pudu Aardvark (the females went to Africa Alive) Hairy Armadillo Fennec fox Arabian Sand Cat American Grey fox Ocelot Margay Clouded leopard Red Panda Amur leopard Persian leopard Jaguar Binturong Cuban flamingo Common seal Cormorant Gannet Southern fur seal Californian sealion Black-tipped reef shark Red-crowned crane Stanley Crane White-naped crane Crested quetzal African pygmy falcon Brown kiwi Brujin's echidna Tasmanian devil Common wombat Prairie marmot andean condor golden eagle parma wallaby pine marten white-faced saki
The Clore pavillion is (maybe was) almost a zoo in itself, I kind of like that. I was going to mention that you missed Saki monkeys of your list but Johnstonii said it. Also: Prevost Tree Squirrels And a small rodent I can't remember the name of- something like broad-tailed dormouse. Its a small rodent with a tail that is like a feather. What is happening with Tamanduas at London? I thought these had left the collection, but apparently not!
London Zoo had a Javan Rhino in Victorian times, but they only realised it was a Javan after it had died. I'll have to hit the books to give you more details.
Chris I know of Fat Dormouse (Myoxius glis) Hazel Dormouse (Muscardinus avellinus) South African Bushy-tailed Dormouse (Graphiurus murinus) Forest Dormouse (Dryomys nitedula) Garden Dormouse (Eliomys quercinus) The Clore is where I saw my furst ever wombat, Jamaica Hutia, Minne Downs Mouse, Cuis, Rock Cavy, Degu, Naked Mole Rat, Kiwi, Tasmanian Devil and Hog Badger; and probably many more species I have forgotten about.
According to my books, the Javan rhino was the only one ever seen at London, and the two photos I have are from 1875 & 1884. The rhino died in 1885, and , apparently, was dissected by Sir Frederick Treves, the eminent surgeon who befriended the "Elephant Man", Joseph Merrick! The book said that no Javan rhinos have been seen in captivity since the death of a male in Adelaide Zoo in 1907. This was the rhino that was only identified as Javan several decades after its death, I got me facts wrong, sorry.
London Regent's Park Zoo was the only zoo in the world, who has kept four species of rhinos at the same time ! Between 1875 and 1885 they kept indian,javan,sumatran and black rhinos. ( the first white rhinos to a zoo in the world came in 1950 to Antwerp ) The old guidebooks before the second world war are full of rare animals.
London Zoo in Old Photographs 1852-1914 has some interesting photos. Great Spotted Kiwi (Apteryx haastii) 1876 and 1895-1899 Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) 1860, 1912-1918 Kagu (Rhynochetus jubatus) 1862-1877, 1913-1915, 1941-1950 Pink-headed Duck (Rhodonessa caryophallacea) 1874, 1899-1901 Bruijn's Echidna (Zaglossus bruijni) 1912-1943 Grizzled Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus inustus) 1848-1852 and 1865 Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby (Petrogale xanthops) 1865-1894 Small-eared Dog (Atleocynus microtis) the type specimen for this species arrived at London in 1882. Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes) between 1911-1914 Falkland Islands Wolf (Dusicyon australis) 1868 Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus) 1885 Mongollian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus hemionus) 1909-1918 Only one specimen was ever exhibited in England. Syrian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus hemippus) 1869-1884 Cape Mountain Zebra (equus zebra zebra) 1899 Hairy-eared Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis lasiotis) 1872-1900. 33 years is still the longevity record for the species in captivity. The type specimen for the subspecies. Pygmy Hog (Porcula savalinus) 1883-1886 and 1904 Persian Fallow Deer (Dama mesopotamica) 1908 Thailand Brow-antlered Deer (cervus eldi siamensis) 1899 Wallich's Deer (Cervus elephas wallichi) 1912-1926 Apparently the only one ever kept in the western world. Bulbal Hartebeest (Alcelaphus bucephalus busephalus) 1883-1897 and 1906-1907 Klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus) 1896 Saiga (Saiga tatarica) 1866-1869 On 31 August 1902 Jenny a female Asian Elephant who had arrived pregnant from Sanger's Circus gave birth to a still-born calf. Giraffes have been kept continuously at London Zoo since 1895.
"London Zoo in Old photographs: 1852-1914" is the source of my Javan Rhino info, and for anyone who doesn't have a copy, it is a fascinating book. Especially the photos of Jumbo, he looks enormous. Can you imagine a zoo nowadays allowing a mature 11ft high bull African elephant to take people for rides around the zoo!!!
In the book "Golden Days - Historic Photographs of the London Zoo" is a picture of a platypus, the photo was taken in 1928, but I coudn't find the animal in the guidebooks, so maybe it died the same year.