Welsh Mountain Zoo Former Species at Welsh Mountain Zoo

Z

ZooMania

Well-Known Member
LOL, yes i know, jumping on the bandwagon but i am genuenly interested here.

Persian Leopard
Black Leopard
Kulan
Llama
African Elephant
Polar Bear (?)
 
I know they had an Asian elephant too, not sure about Polar bear though.
 
In 1975 I saw

Indian Ring-necked Parakeet
Swiss Mountain Goat
King Vulture
African Tawny Eagle
Sarus Crane
Painted Stork
Northern Chacalaca
African Fish Eagle
Lagger Falcon
Blue and Yellow Macaw
Ostrich
 
A few more to add to the list
Syrian Brown Bear
American Crocodile
African Lion
Jungle Cat
Geoffroys Cat
Western Hog Nose Snake
Marine Toad
 
Thanks guys.

Ashley, a relative of mine claimed they had a Polar Bear. Im presuming this is quote a long time ago now though.

Rob, they still have Ostriches, B&G Macaws and Chacalaca.

Now that they've been mentioned i remember the Geoffrey's Cats and briefly the Lions aswell.
 
You can add Wolves and cougars. wolves had an enclosure where the bottom plaground is today, and the mountain lions were in the leopard enclosure before the persian and menalistic leopards were there. aparently the polar bear was a syrian bear (to the untrained eye it may have looked like a polar bear) ive heard from relatives that ST asaph zoo may have had a polar bear?
 
Although according to an ex member of the forum, St Aspha zoo also had something like 15 elephants, 20 giraffes and 10 Indian rhinos... So I wouldn't say records of that place are too accurate :D
 
Ash said:
Although according to an ex member of the forum, St Aspha zoo also had something like 15 elephants, 20 giraffes and 10 Indian rhinos... So I wouldn't say records of that place are too accurate :D
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haha for sure, my dad said that the place shut down when he was a kid and he remembers polar bears and a tiger. thats all :P
 
Ah now we were told this place was open in Stewardian times, I think that proves the "rumors" to be fake.
Anyway, back to Colwyn Bay :D
 
Ash said:
Although according to an ex member of the forum, St Aspha zoo also had something like 15 elephants, 20 giraffes and 10 Indian rhinos... So I wouldn't say records of that place are too accurate :D
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St Asaph DID have at least 1 Polar Bear and at least 1 Asian Elephant. In the photos I've seen, both of these were youngsters.
 
That's interesting, when was the place actually around?
 
Ash said:
That's interesting, when was the place actually around?
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From people i've spoken to, that place WAS open in the late stuardian times and there's a painting in a "Textile Shop" (where the site of the zoo is now) that is thought to be "St.Asaph Zoo" with large numbers of animal species, didn't bother to count mind. But paintings from far historical times and "word-of-mouth" isn't all that accurate! I can't remember seeing polar-bears in the painting mind and NEVER was there that much animals as the previous member said.
 
as i said, it closed when my father was a child sooo im guessing the 60s? hmm must have been when the WMZ was opening. there was also a dolphinarium there too from what ive heard. might have been people confusing it for the Rhyl dophinarium though...


@paradoxurus. where did you see this photos? ive been looking for a while over the interwebz.
 
ChesterGemsbok said:
From people i've spoken to, that place WAS open in the late stuardian times and there's a painting in a "Textile Shop" (where the site of the zoo is now) that is thought to be "St.Asaph Zoo" with large numbers of animal species, didn't bother to count mind. But paintings from far historical times and "word-of-mouth" isn't all that accurate! I can't remember seeing polar-bears in the painting mind and NEVER was there that much animals as the previous member said.
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I'm just going to dissect this passage as things are turning a bit surreal:

"late Stuardian times". Now I'm afraid that I'm a useless historian. I'd really like you to elaborate on these "Stuardian" times. When was this period please?

"(Where the site of the zoo is now)". What zoo? St. Asaph Zoo no longer exists. Unfortunately I don't have my references to hand but I reckon it closed in the early late 60s or early 70s. "Where the site of the zoo is now"? Surely if a zoo exists there now, the "Textile shop" must be within the zoo grounds. I reckon this is a unique situation in the world of zoos. I know of no other zoo with its own "Textile shop"

"But paintings from far historical times and "word-of-mouth" isn't all that accurate!" Your telling me! Paintings in textiles shops, depictions of herds of elephants and rhinos and tyranosaurus rexes at what was in effect little more than a childrens zoo? What on earth is all this nonsense.

The bare bones of the St Asaph Zoo/Llanerch Deer Park story can be gleaned from one of Clin's book (off the top of my head I think it is Where the Zebu Grazed but I could be completely wrong - someone on here can confirm this) and there are several guidebooks to the place knocking around. I seem to remember it was opened by or in conjunction with Associated Pleasure Parks or was certainly acquired by them. The collection didn't amount to much but did have bear cubs and a young elephant called Hannibal (? Robmv?). Kreft's Bears were also there for one season (they spent another season at APP's/Martin Lacey's Sherwood Zoo). Clin was, I'm paraphrasing, their "zoological advisor" in its first or second year while he was running Ashover.

I am sure there was a temporary Dolphin pool there for a season.
 
Quote from the afore mentioned member, Elephant400:

"There was a fantastic Zoo in St Asaph, North Wales (Stuardian time) . They had 7 asian elephants, 6 African elephants, 4 prides of lions (one female had the white gene), 24 giraffes (not sure of specie) two white rhino, six indian rhino, and one massive lot of birds, reptiles, anphibians and small mammals. The Zoo struggled withy money and the british army shot all of the animals un-sellable, including all of the elephants exept one and 2 prides of lions. Not sure on the rest. The zoo site is now a Shopping outlet."

Hmm. Now I'm not in doubt that the zoo existed, but that number of animals surely has to be misheard/made-up? Also, as Mzungu's father has visited, I'm highly doubtful of the time it was apparently open too. Can ANYONE elaborate on this?
 
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