they also had an african female for mnay yrs, she was very agressive i belive, and she died in transit to wpz, she was meant to be a gift to hitler, but the boat she was on, ended up in sydney (dont ask me how) and she was given to taronga in the height of the war wasnt there a sabrina female there also somewhere, she died many yrs ago (80's i think) will check my book.
I found some information on the internet. Jill Died at Taronga in 1976 Joan Died at Taronga in 1977 The African elephant you mentioned was called Chori He/she died as zoo officials readied to transport her to WPZ I also edited the information in my first post! (I found the death-date of Sarina)
Can somebody tell me where Ranee came from? I only found a few links with a date of death and that she lived in the zoo for 36 years!
these are great old photos... that bull looks pretty spectacular - all thick neck and tall forequarters, like heman but with two tusks.. post more!
Heman or He-Man? alrighty i have asked this one before without much luck but seeing as we have a few people keen on tracking down elephant histories i would like to ask a question... why did heman receive the unfortunate name of heman? is it after the animated cartoon character invented by the mattel toy company in the early 80's? the elephants name is most oftenly spelt as two words "He-Man" or "He Man" like it was in the masters of the universe. if thats the case what was this animal called prior to that? he was brought to the zoo in the 63' - almost 20 years before the release of the toys featuring the blonde muscle man... or was the name He-Man just an 80's influenced bastardisation of "heman" (or something similar) a name that has some sort of meaning malay (not that it sounds malay) and belonged to the elephant all along?
His official name on Taronga's records is He-Man, but there's no mention of when he was named, or where the name came from.
thats weird. then he definately has to be named after the cartoon/comic character. especially since it even includes the dash between the two words. the weird thing is that this series of toys and related merchandise was definately not invented prior to the early 80's. is zooboy correct? did he definately arrive in 63 from singapore? are their actual physical records from that time or has everything been digitised and updated? (if so his original name may have been replaced)..
His records show that he arrived in Februay 1963 from Mayfields Kennels (sometimes AKA Mayfields Circus), in Singapore, and wild born, estimated 1956, so yes, zoo boy has that right. I can't be sure (but I'll find out for you), but I'd say his records would not have been estimated. The bigger zoos in the region had very well kept records back to the 20's and 30's in some cases, and in those terms, 1963 is not that old. And especially with larger species with little or no breeding history, the records are hardly complex.
thanks zoopro. i'm utterly convinced now that he-man originally had a different name, unless anyone else can point out some other "he-man" relevance....
@Patrick Some time ago I posted this: I didn't find any information, but I did find some very nice pictures with elephants! Maybe you all will know this place allready: PictureAustralia® Otherwise pick a search! @Zoo Boy Jessie and Dundry previously must have lived at the old Sydney Zoo in Moore Park. On the homepage I found this line of text: "In all, 228 mammals, 552 birds and 64 reptiles were moved from Moore Park to Taronga. Many, including the elephants, crossed the harbour on board a flat top barge." So the year 1916 is her arrival at Taronga. I would like to know the history about Moore Parks' elephants to. @ all the others Thanks for all the information sofar. You are a big help for me!
I think Gandhi came from Bullen's Circus I found an artical that mentions his name. And I also found a picture on Buckles Blog. The elephant in front of the car looks the same to me. What do you guys think (or know)? This second picture from Bullen's is on that blog to.
Hi all, I found the name of another (African!) elephant in an old Taronga Park Zoo guide I have in my collection. Cheena, who used to give rides to children to. In this same guide I found some information on Chori to. She was received from Tanganyika and was the first African elephant to be exhibited in Australia. The guide was issued around 1952, is yellow and shows a drawing of some animals on his cover.
great day assesments done, years ago, the ideas for those exhibits are something ive thought for years, since a major hsc project. i think i posted the ideas in 2005-weve talked about them before. the elephants are going great. they 3 young ones were playing in the water for about half an hour, whilst pornthip and pak boon were down with keepers at the barn. then the elephants were all calle dout together, Gug got a bit of personal training and the girls went through a walking routine around the exhibit. later the keepers put the eles through their paces, balancing on logs and amazingly, using just a rope with a knot in the end the elephants dragged the logs around the exhibit. was great, and once again the zoo was packed. these elephants are a massive draw-everyone knows, tlaks about them. even my italian and english friends who i went to the zoo with knew about them from the international press they received. despite the heat and massive crowds some of the more inactive species put on a great show-binturongs, fishing cats, dhole and snow leopards all pulling the crowds yesterday. no work on gung's enclosure yet BUT southern oceans is getting close. theyve actually started planting the exhibit out with a whole range of native coastal species. the area on the site of the old condor aviary looks closest to completion, theres a raised boardwalk and all the rock work is nearly done. water in some of the pools and crate training for the seals continues...brooke the leopard seal was actually in with a bull fur seal or sea lion!
and the francois langur exhibit is looking more amazing every time i go. the strangler figs inside the exhibit are filling it out nicely, and the langurs are putting on a really good show. my friends said taronga was the best zoo theyve ever been to, i was actually really happy to hear that...except the chimpanzees were not on display
