I have heard a whisper several times on this forum that Southport Zoo may reopen? Can anyone shed any light on this rumour?
Would very much doubt a zoo re-opening in Southport as the local council didn`t do the old one many favours before it closed.
Also the previous owners sold all their stock that they didn't take to their next venture, which is one of the raptor parks in the north west. Sorry cannot remember where. It won't happen.
Although i too believe this to be a Wikipedia generated myth, does anyone live locally that can tell us what if anything has happened to the old site, as i believe the adjoining amusement park has now also closed....
Always love it when Wikipedia gets blamed - I've just viewed every version of the Wikipedia Southport Zoo article and no, never was it said that the zoo was going to reopen. There was mention of the owners wanting to open a zoo in Yorkshire, but that had been deleted some time back.
The chances of a zoo opening in Southport are remote! There are several anti-zoo members on the council in sefton, as previously stated they did not do the previous owners of Southport Zoo any favours. The old Southport zoo site is now covered with the mobile homes and rubbish generaled by the fair ground operators of the 'new pleasureland', a fun fair occupying the original Pleasureland theme park site. The former owners of the zoo have managed to relocate to North Yorkshire and did originally intend to open a small collection of animals alongside their falconry centre, but have now dropped such plans.
The council in East Riding where extremely reluctant to allow the Yorkshire Dales Falconry Centre (where Doug and Carol Petrie moved to) to have any animals other than raptors there. Saying that they DID relent and allow some other animals to go there but I believe they are a private collection of the Petrie's favourite animals and as such are not on show. I live just a few miles away from Southport and have regularly been keeping an eye on the site. Basically, Sefton Council screwed the Petrie's over and didn't offer them an extension to the lease for the site because of the bad press the zoo got from the animal rights movement (extremely harsh in my opinion, as Southport was never as bad as it was painted except for the lion and mandrill enclosures which were hideous! But the animals were happy and breeding). Pleasureland then bought the lease for 100 years in what appears to be a secret agreement and gave the Petrie's just over 6 months to move the entire zoo out. 18 months later Pleasureland pulled out. Since the New Pleasureland has opened and part of the old zoo (pretty much were the chimp enclosure was) has now been turned into a traveller's camp for the fair workers. The fair closes in October and doesn't open until March. As for the structures within the old zoo: there was a fire a few months ago which damaged the old reptile house but apart from that most of the structures are still there rotting away.
When I'm right, this zoos was opened in 1968 and closed 2004?! In this 36 years they had at least one (Asian) elephant, called Sunderi. Is their somebody who can provide me some information on this and maybe some other elephant(s) in this zoo?
The origins of this zoo date back to 1953 (there have been several different animal-themed attractions in Southport over the years). I think Sunderi arrived some time in the 1950s, but I've not been able to find any more info. In one of his books, Clin Keeling told the story of Frank Farrar (then owner of the zoo) who picked up an Asian calf from Heathrow in 1961 but she broke her leg during the journey to Southport and had to be put down. At some point in 1962, Southport Zoo was advertising an elephant as "Jolly Jumbo". In May of the same year Frank Farrar sold an African calf named Toto to London Zoo - possibly these were one and the same animal. There were certainly no facilities at Southport suitable for housing an adult elephant.
Wasn't Toto the elephant that started off Born Free's zoocheck after they followed her story from being wild caught in Africa to dying in transport to Whipsnade?
That was Pole-Pole. She was the subject of the 1970 film "An Elephant Called Slowly" which starred Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers - hence the Born Free connection. She collapsed whilst under sedation to prepare her for a move to Whipsnade and was destroyed a week later (17.10.1983) when she failed to recover.
I wonder if Sunderi was the elephant referred to by Clin Keeling . The poor thing looks very thin and is holding up one of her front legs as if it hurts .
