Whilst enjoying the debate about London Zoo's Lion plans, I brought up my first visit to London Zoo and it got me thinking/reminiscing about previous Zoo visits and happy memories. I am quite a nostalgic person, and I enjoyed being taken back to the first time I saw Gorilla at London Zoo. Other great memories are coming face to face with a Cheetah at Colchester Zoo, seeing the young male Asian Rhino in what is now the Elephant house at Whipsnade, melting in the summer heat at Toronto Zoo and the delight in seeing Takin and Barbary Sheep for the first time at Paignton Zoo earlier last year (I'm easily pleased!). Perhaps this does not interest anyone, but I thought it would be kinda cool to hear each others memories of good visits in the past. doesn't have to be a really big exciting memory, as I have already said I got excited seeing a Barbary Sheep for the first time! If there is already a thread/post like this I apologise and if no one is interested that's cool, just thought I would suggest it!
My earliest zoo memories a.re of London: Chi Chi, the polar bears on the Mappin terraces ( & king penguins), sealions, the old lion house and the Clore Pavillion & Moonlight World and elephant bathtime in the Casson. After that the thrill of seeing Okapi & white tigers for the first time aged about 6/7 at Bristol 1973. Whipsnade was the only place I can remember seeing Indian Rhino, Common Hippo, Musk Ox or Kodiak bear as a child. Or dolphins in a zoo. *correction i also saw hippo at Woburn in the mid 70s. I have happy memories of Linton & Kilverstone(later on) too. Marwell 1978, first asian lions, snow leopard, persian leopard & a host of deer & antelope i hadnt seen before.
I can remember a lion at Blackpool Tower zoo in the mid 1960's a lion and Ankol cow at Stanley zoo in Co.Durham feeding bears at the indoor winter zoo in Newcastle again the mid 1960's also about that time the camel house in Edinburgh zoo and the smell of the camels a wonderful animal smell. One of my scariest moments concerned yet another lion this time in the 1980's at Blackpool I was watching the lioness's when out of the corner of my eye I saw something moving I looked down and saw eye to eye with the lion my blood ran cold, even with the double fence between us.
I remember seeing my first Anoa at London Zoo in the Old Cattle House,seeing a Barbary Sheep jump over the fence out of it's enclosure at Dudley then back again, a friendly Seriema chick at Stagsden,my first ever Cacomistle at Dublin Zoo, but most of all seeing Twycross when it first opened, it is a Zoo that people in Leicestershire are still proud of!
And proud of it you should be, its a great zoo (I have been twice) and is the only zoo I have seen bonobo's. I also remember the Musk-Ox at Whipsnade, although I think I was a bit too young to remember when they had a pair. In the back of my mind I think I can remember the old crocodile enclosure at Whipsnade, but perhaps im mistaken!
I remember my first visit to Blair Drummond safari park, with vague memories of common hippo and generic leopards.
Kiang I seam to have memories of bears in the 1970's something to do with Loch Lommand could that be right?
I think i saw bears in the walk round part of the safari park too, this was in the early eighties. Loch Lomond bear park was certainly open then.
Thanks K. I did wonder if i had miss remembered it. It was the early 1970's on family camping holidays, and as I stopped going on them in 1977 it was before then, 1973/4 I should think.
My first zoo memories were... Seeing a pacing brown bear in the old enclosures at Colchester zoo. Feeding red deer and watching the river otters at Mole hall wildlife park. Watching elephants reach across the moat and seeing the rhino at London zoo. Watching the melanistic leopard at Linton zoo in the now vulture aviary. I was quite lucky that my family visited zoos and farms regularly when I was a child.
I've been a regular visitor to Chester all my life. I remember being puzzled as to why the polar bear enclosure was painted bright blue. My mother told me it was so the bears thought they were in the wild! Thankfully Chester's encloures have improved since those days.
My first visit to Woburn Safari Park has always stuck with me, mainly because of a Camel! We had spent the day there, and decided to drive back through the reserve section on the way home. Entering the section that I believe held Giraffe and Camel (this was a good few years ago), we were greeted with the sight of a immaculate, beige, Bactrian Camel standing in the middle of the road. It was blocking the way through and it just stood there, for what seemed like ages, looking incredibly majestic and clean for a camel! That has always stuck with me.
My first memory of Blackpool will always be the Big cat house, seeing my first Amur Tigers and zoo generic Lions. Great memories, I also loved Blackpool's Great Ape house, that was another major memory.
I have been going to zoos since 1965, but my family visits to London Zoo took the same route each time (including the Monkey House, Cotton Terraces, Lion House, Monkey House, Mappin Terraces, Reptile House and Childrens' Zoo), so I'm afraid I didn't see some of the more unusual animals that were at the zooin the 1960s. I regret not seeing the solenodon at the Clore. Memories of London Zoo include seeing a pygmy slow loris before I'd even seen a picture of one; seeing a herd of markhors on the Mappins and seeing a hog badger, moon rat, kiwi and vampire bats in the Moonlight World. There was a plumbeous redstart in the Bird House; it used to come up to the front of its enclosure and hop about when I saw it; it is still one of my best animal memories from any zoo.
In this thread, Dassie rat bemoans having missed the unusual stuff in the Clore, then names four amazingly unusual things they saw in the Clore two of which are now absent from Europe, with one still held in very few places, and the other almost always offshow wherever it *is* kept!
Hallo,TeaLoving Dave My family wasn't too keen on animals.My sister's favourite animals were the male keepers. My father used to like animals that could be cooked and served on a plate with roast potatoes and Brussel sprouts. My brother's favourite place was the Gift Shop. Nowadays, I choose the buildings with more unusual animals, but I didn't know about the solenodon and I doubt if my family would be that keen on seeing one. The Nocturnal House wqas closed when I visited Taronga Zoo, so I didn't see some of the animals that I am unlikely to see elsewhere. I know I'm not the only person who has been to a zoo to see a particular species and that one is the most elusive, despite returning to the enclosure to try and see it at different times of the day.
Hehe, always the way still, the best way to look at it is that you have still managed to see stuff that makes my generation green with envy, much as I have seen stuff that will likely make the *next* generation equally green!
Thanks, Tea Loving Dave. I was telling a friend the other day about the different sakis and uakaris we'd seen at Cologne Zoo in 1982. I don't thin that they made much of an impact on her, but she did like seeing the proboscis monkeys.
