ZSL London Zoo London Zoo in 1932

Treasure indeed.

Fascinating that as late as 1932, it could be written that "bearded lizards from .... swell out the membrane under their chins. This gives them the appearance of having a dark round beard like a Rabbi, hence their name "Jew lizard".

And I wonder when the trick with adding carotenoids to flamingos' diet was worked out?
 
Generally speaking, London Zoo had a more interesting collection in 1932 than it does today, but many of the animals were in very cramped conditions that would not be acceptable now. Zoo guides from the early 1930s tend to list the different species in each house or enclosure and photographs include the kagu and thylacine (London Zoo had the last captive thylacine in Europe).

Zoochatters may be interested in 'The Zoo in Winter' at 11 pm on BBC2 tonight, where Jonathan Miller visits London Zoo and fantasizes about the private lives of the animals there.
 
Did anyone see 'The Zoo in Winter' last night. I suspect it was filmed about 45 years ago, as it showed the Casson Pavilion, Lion House and Monkey House. I got a bit irritated with the animal impersonations, but I enjoyed seeing the hoolock gibbons again, a species that is now very rare in zoos. I don't remember seeing geladas on my early zoo visits, but remember them in the early 1970s, when the Sobells had replaced the Monkey House; the Sobells also had a douc langur for a short time.
 
Dassie rat said:
Did anyone see 'The Zoo in Winter' last night.
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I did. It was unique, in my experience, because I have never seen anything else in which Jonathan Miller has been less than interesting. However he must have been very young when he made it and he probably needed the money.
I spotted the hoolocks and a drill, which I don't remember from the old monkey house. The programme must have been made some years before my first visit to Regents Park. I remember the Lion House, the Birds of Prey aviaries and the Dog Dens (with coyotes) plus the Seal Pool (although I was rather offended by what JM said about the seals). I didn't remember the flamingo pool or the gharial or the palm cockatoos.
My main thought was how dreadful those old buildings were: London is not my favourite zoo now, but is immeasurably better than the way it used to be - to be fair, I'm sure the same could be said of almost every other zoo in UK too.

Alan
 
Dassie rat said:
Did anyone see 'The Zoo in Winter' last night. I suspect it was filmed about 45 years ago, as it showed the Casson Pavilion, Lion House and Monkey House. I got a bit irritated with the animal impersonations, but I enjoyed seeing the hoolock gibbons again, a species that is now very rare in zoos. I don't remember seeing geladas on my early zoo visits, but remember them in the early 1970s, when the Sobells had replaced the Monkey House; the Sobells also had a douc langur for a short time.
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Yes, I saw the programme yesterday evening; I am extremely glad you brought it to my attention otherwise I would have missed it.

I agree with you about the date; it was obviously filmed in the late nineteen sixties.

I found Jonathan Miller’s absurd anthropomorphic comments infuriating but, ignoring the awful commentary, it was especially interesting to see film of the old buildings and it brought back many memories.
 
gentle lemur said:
My main thought was how dreadful those old buildings were: London is not my favourite zoo now, but is immeasurably better than the way it used to be - to be fair, I'm sure the same could be said of almost every other zoo in UK too.

Alan
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Some of us recall that the "Zoo without Bars" used to keep Civet in something not far removed from a packing case with a glass front!
 
Thanks Gentle Lemur. Like you, I don't remember seeing drills in the Monkey House, but I do remember seeing the gharial in the Reptile House. This was when the crocodiles were kept in the enclosure to the right of the main entrance, with several species represnted by an individual. Very few reptiles bred in those days, although I remember that Boipevassu snakes seemed to breed each year in the 1980s.

Thanks Tim. I read about the programe yesterday and my aunt reminded me about it until she ended our phone call to defrost the fridge. A friend phoned up at about 11 pm to tell me, but I'd have missed the programme if I'd answered the phone. I didn't want a repeat of my mother phoning to tell me about Tomorrow's World being set in the Natural History Museum and then talking all the way through it, so I only saw a few images. That is one reason why I have my TV and phone in different rooms.
 
It was filmed in 1969. How far we have come since then, both in terms of zoos and TV programmes.

I was hoping to see more of the orangutans. My old favourite, Bulu, was born in 1961 so could possibly have been one of the pair they showed.
 
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