Forgive me for lack of knowledge, as this may be common news for other zoochatters; or maybe not. I have never been to New York or the Bronx, although it would/will be on my bucket list. I recently read that the original King Kong film was, in part, inspired by an early effort by the Bronx Zoo to display Komodo dragons that failed, leading to director Cooper's speculation about taking exotic species to civilization; it has been documented in many sources and ways that his interest in Komodo dragons had a strong influence on the film, but the zoo-related connection was new to me! Does anyone know more about the specifics detailed - exactly when the attempt was made, any context, what went wrong, etc? I'm happy for other information about the history of Komodo dragons at the zoo as well if anyone has something to share, but I'm not terribly knowledgeable on Bronx.
You are referring to this? The Demise of the Komodo Kings The archives of the New York Times has several articles relating to this starting in 1926
Thank you for the link. I didn't agree with the author's editorial perspective (though I understand their point) but it certainly contained the relevant historical knowledge I was seeking. Thank you.
