Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo history

This is great stuff; I'd already found and watched the 1991 one, but had not yet seen the 1997 one. Thanks muchly!

 

Great videos, brings back so many memories. Even though it’s over 20 years old you can still tell its Colchester Zoo.

Some memories I have of the zoo from the early 90s:

- The entrance, having to pay in your car at the main gates, leading to long queues down Maldon Road.
- Just driving past the zoo you could see quite a few animals from the main road like the elephants and zebras.
- The zedonks.
- Birds such as owls being kept in the church area.
- The old sit on train.
- Farm animals and a larger play ground where the Kingdom of the Wild building is now.
- The arcade and roundabout ride.
- The bears.
- Waiting for the elephants to walk from their enclosure to their display area.
- The sealion and parrot shows.
- A dinosaur themed gift shop.

Another vivid memory of mine is the great African style music played on the land train in the late 90s, lol.

 

From the video it showed to young chimps who could this be?

 

I think the two chimps would be Tombe and tekita as they were both born in 1996 so that would figure because they look about a year old

 

Many sasha242 do you know who their mother are?

 

chimps

i think judging by the 'family tree' it is Tara, born in 1985

But i later found out that Tombe is the half brother of Tekita and that they do not share a mother but they were still probably the ones of a young age in the video

Family tree:
[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/71256895@N00/4525470332/in/set-72157623802652928"]Family tree 016 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

 

Tekita's mum is Tara.
Tombe's mum was Mandy who died in 2001.

Both were fathered by bobby who originally came from twycross. Bobby died at Colchester in 2002. He was quite a prolific breeder, also fathering: kora at colchester (mum is billie-joe); and Jambo, William, holly, Becky and Jomar at Twycross.

 

mazfc you are quite right; Tombe was born to Mandy. He was five years old when she died in the summer of 2001. She is still much missed by people at CZ. She was 35 at the time of death and had been at the zoo since the Farrar years - about 20 years at least. It is thought she came from a zoo in Cleethorpes when it closed in the 1970s.

 

In relation to the chimp group a press satement talks about the loss of "Hannah" the chimp who was she i relation to the group?

 

Sorry I don't know I'm afraid

 

Hannah was an extremely old chimp who was put down after years of suffering from heart disease and liver cancer. She was to old the operate on and eventually the zoo made the decision to put her down

 

I do know that the oldest chimp 'billy-joe' was once an experimental chimp in a laboratry. This is the reason why she is sometimes seen rocking back and forth in the enclosures.

 

https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/groups/132236546921552/ is my page feel free to post for info here.

 

Dear all,

This is just to let you know that the manuscript for my forthcoming book about Colchester Zoo has today reached the publisher. No date is confirmed yet, but it seems highly likely that it will be released in time for the zoo's 50th birthday on the 2nd of June next year.

My thanks go to all the good people who contributed to this thread or who otherwise contacted me personally about the history of Colchester Zoo through this fine website!

I only hope the book will not disappoint.

Yours,

Roonwit

 

Good luck with this, i look forward to reading it

 

Excellent news. From what I've seen of it so far, it looks an excellent book, and I look forward to reading it. My congratulations to you. I'll be happy to review it in due course for one of the zoo-based magazines if you wish.

 

Dear all,

My book, The Story of Colchester Zoo, is now due for release on the 15th of May this year, just in time for the zoo's 50th birthday!

I'll post some updates closer to the time.

[ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Story-Colchester-Zoo-Kershaw/dp/0752493469/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365774988&sr=8-1&keywords=colchester+zoo]The Story of Colchester Zoo: Amazon.co.uk: S. C. Kershaw: Books[/ame]

 

I remember seeing Simba the lion being fed milk from a large babies like bottle by the keeper. Must have been around 1966 and think it was when at when I was on holiday on the isle of white, Sandown zoo.
I am sure that shortly after that time Simba appeared on TV show along with a large snake, might have been an anaconda. I was fascinated by the size of the lion as we were allowed quite close to the bars of the cage.....before 'elf & safety.

 

Not sure if you are still on here, or if anyone will know. I am trying to follow up a suggestion that pumas Mitzi and Jason from Zootopia in Bognor Regis may have gone to Colchester in 1984/5. My information is that they went to Longleat but as that was managed by the Chipperfields at the time, it does seem quite possible that they were sold on.

 

Pacu, I think you may well be right about that, I don`t believe the pumas, or indeed the bears, that were said to have gone to Longleat at the time, actually ever got there? Your suggestion makes sense to me.