Old Zoo Advert, pre-1971

Old Zoo Advert...

I visited for the first time about 1962, and remember seeing at least one Pygmy Hippo, possibly indoors. Also remember a group of Beavers indoors. Both species may have had outside access.

Unfortunately, I never saw the pygmy hippos at Paignton Zoo as all my (many) visits to Paignton were after they had died (although I did see “Peggy” many times at London Zoo when I was a very young child).

Consequently, I cannot answer your question from personal experience. Looking at the Paignton Zoo guidebook for 1958, though, the pygmy hippo accommodation was very roughly in the middle of the zoo; adjacent to the pelican pool and opposite the emus. However, the layout of the zoo has changed so much since then it is hard to relate this to the zoo of today.

This edition of the guidebook features a photograph of the pygmy hippopotamus “Percy”; the same photo is also reproduced in Geoffrey Schomberg’s book “British Zoos” (1957).

I have just put a comment on my 1959 map scan to move it on to this page. I have said it looks to me that the hippopotamus exhibit was on the slope up to what is now (and has been for quite a while!) the baboon exhibit, about opposite the gate for the current farm area.

Further to my earlier post; the pygmy hippo exhibit referred to above was numbered 32 on the map in the 1958 guide.

According to the guide for 1960/61, the pygmy hippos had been moved to the Zebra Paddocks (numbered 45 on the map) opposite the wallabies.