ZSL London Zoo Elephant rides

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flackyslegion

Member
Afternoon,

Does anybody know when elephant rides stopped at London Zoo?

At Bristol is was 1961: i'd like to know if this is a widespread change.

Cheers!
 
ZSL London Zoo Elephant rides

I know WHY they stopped. Elephants were increasingly spooked by Concorde flying over, and either one tried to dive through a tunnel under the road, or they were afraid this might happen. Camel rides continued until at least the mid 80s.
 
Interesting.

That correlates with Bristol's reasoning - the elephant Rosie had fallen twice in the years before her death, once with a howdah full of children.
 
ZSL London Zoo Elephant rides

Rosie wasbefore my time. I first went to Bristol in 1975, by which time Wendy & Christina were in residence, neither of whom I think were ever ridden. They were of course walked around the zoo [and even outside], although I never remember seeing Christina out of the enclosure. I remember Wendy being walked around the zoo in her later years; she seems to have been a very gentle elephant with people, although bullied by at least two other elephants [one of whom was Christina]. For those unfamiliar with Bristol, Wendy & Christina were Asian & African respectively. Christina always struck me as a particularly attractive animal.
 
FBBird said:
I know WHY they stopped. Elephants were increasingly spooked by Concorde flying over, and either one tried to dive through a tunnel under the road, or they were afraid this might happen. Camel rides continued until at least the mid 80s.
Click to expand...

Are you sure it was Concorde? Its maiden flight wasn't until 1969 & wasn't in service until 1976. I don't remember elephant rides from my visits as a young child in the late 60s/early 70s.
 
flackyslegion said:
Does anybody know when elephant rides stopped at London Zoo?
Cheers!
Click to expand...

I remember elephant rides at London Zoo when I was a very small child in the late nineteen fifties.

I have a copy of the 1960 zoo guide which mentions elephant rides in the section on animal rides; however a sheet of paper has been inserted to state that elephant rides were suspended in 1960. I don't think that they were ever reinstated.
 
A corollary to this piece of history is the location of the ex-Elephant & Rhinoceros Pavilion. The elephant rides took place where the now grassed over sites of the gibbon and cockatoo aviaries stood, built in 1962 and demolished some 40 years later.

The idea was that the elephant house would be sited conveniently for the rides, removing the need to walk animals through the tunnels.
 
FBBird said:
I first went to Bristol in 1975, by which time Wendy & Christina were in residence, neither of whom I think were ever ridden. .
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They never gave 'rides' for visitors, but I seem to remember the keepers sometimes rode them mahout style when they were out in the grounds.

I think they may have stopped taking them out as they became mature, but resumed again with Wendy after Christina died?
 
I am sure they were stopped after a run away in a zoo; and a subsequent price hike for insurance. The start of Health & safety.
 
Tim May said:
I have a copy of the 1960 zoo guide which mentions elephant rides in the section on animal rides; however a sheet of paper has been inserted to state that elephant rides were suspended in 1960. I don't think that they were ever reinstated.
Click to expand...

Although it doesn’t really affect the main point of my earlier post - that elephant rides ceased in 1960 - I’ve just noticed a typing error in my original post (quoted above); my guide, that was updated with a 1960 insert, was actually dated 1958. In addition to the information that elephant rides were suspended in 1960, this insert mentioned various other recent changes (e.g the giant panda “Chi-Chi” is on view in an enclosure near the Chimps’ Tea Party Lawn; the Rodent House has been renamed the South Mammal House; the Small Mammal House is now known as the Central Mammal House...).

flackyslegion said:
Tim May - do you have the full details of the 1960 guidebook? Full title and publisher?
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As just mentioned, my original post really referred to the 1958 not the 1960 guide.

To answer your question:

Full Title: Zoo Guide; Publisher: Zoological Society of London
 
It might be of further interest in stating that the houda that was used for the elephant rides was for some time displayed inside the Casson Pavilion.
 
If you have any love for elephants - please never, ever considering riding one. So few people know what goes on behind the scenes to make the majority of elephants "domesticated" ready for riding/circus work - its called a breaking ceremony when a baby elephant is taken from its mother and beaten into submission:

While UK zoos won't put elephants through this torture, people need to be aware and help spread the word about what goes on elsewhere in the world - and by riding an elephant (anywhere) you are encouraging others to do so.

Take a stand, take the moral high ground, put animal welfare before personal interest - and don't ever ride an elephant. Go enjoy them in a zoo, or better still in a sanctuary in Asia where you can enjoy them in all their natural beauty.
 
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What a sad video! I was at a renaissance faire yesterday and they had a ride an elephant attraction. Part of me wanted to ride the elephant because it's so rare to do so, but then part of me felt guilty. Where does this elephant live at night? What do they do with it when the faire is not going on? Is the majority of its day spent walking around in a circle with humans on its back? I have no idea if the people who own the elephant treat it with respect, but I decided it was probably best not to support it.
 
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