My name is Michael. My initial interest was fostered by as a child by Britains toy zoo animals and Brooke Bond Tea African Wildlife cards, together with trips to London Zoo and Desmond Morris's TV "Zoo Time". I have now been to zoos in France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Sweden, Denmark, Soviet Union, Switzerland, Austria, Republic of Ireland, Czech Republic, United States, Canada, Singapore,Thailand, Japan & Australia. I came upon this site when I was Googling "angwantibo", having just re-read Gerald Durrell's "The Overloaded Ark". There was a thread about animals once kept by London Zoo. Rarities that come to mind were a pangolin (South Mammal House) and either a manatee or a dugong(in the aquarium) circa 1964, an immature walrus in the elephant house indoor pool possibly in the 1970's, and more recently a pair of Asian one-horned rhinoceroses on the Cotton Terraces I guess around 1994. Another Member mentioned koalas. I can confirm they were kept in the Sobell Pavilions, again in 1994 (same enclosure as Ted Heath's Giant Pandas). Hope that is of some interest.
Welcome to ZooChat, Michael. We have a similar background as I too was an enthusiastic collector of both Britains model zoo animals and the wildlife picture cards from packets of Brooke Bond tea; like you, I also used to watch “Zoo Time” with Desmond Morris regularly . A few comments about London Zoo:- The walrus you mention was called “Alice”; she arrived at the zoo in 1966 and, sadly, died the following year. London Zoo has never had a dugong but there was indeed a manatee kept in the aquarium in the 1960s The Indian rhinos were housed on the Cotton Terraces between 1997 and 1998 before going to Whipsnade. I remember the koalas from the old Lubetkin Gorilla House near the Clore Pavilion.
Welcome Michael, I too had a large collection of Britain's zoo animals and used to watch "Zoo Time" (I still have an annual). I did not see Alice the Walrus as she died just before my parents and I made our then annual visit to the zoo.
Dutch Zoos Hi Vogelcommando. The Dutch zoos I have visited are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Emmen, Arnhem and Amersfoort. I enjoyed my visits very much. Highlights were the manatees, white-tailed gnus and saiga in Artis. Dank u vel! Michael
Welcome to Zoochat! Just wanted to notify you that Zoochat used to be called ZooBeat. Don't forget Chi Chi, the giant panda
Chi Chi and Lowland Anoa Hi Lowland Anoa. With reference to rare animals, we had a much loved Lowland Anoa at Regent's Park for many years. His name was Whacker. Chi Chi is now in the Natural History Museum. I remember in her last few years she was in an enclosure with a neighbouring Onager with which she seemed to form an affectionate relationship. I see you are in Scotland. Would Edinburgh be your local Zoo? That's where I discovered African Hunting Dogs are now called Painted Dogs. And I love to see a Takin. MichaelC
Hi Tim, Thanks for the info on Whacker. I think he was called that because he used to head butt his keepers. Thanks also for your comments re walrus,manatee et al. I'm in the process of compiling a more detailed reply, but I want to check all my facts first after my blunder re the koalas. As you quite rightly say, they were kept in the Lubetkin. Kind regards, Michael
Sorry, Michael, I wasn’t contracting you about the koalas in Sobell Pavilion; simply pointing out that my main memory of them was from the old Lubetkin Gorilla House. I especially remember koalas in that building, as I was lucky enough to be taken inside the exhibit with them on a couple of occasions. I’m sure that we’ll have some interesting discussions about our memories of London Zoo...
