Elephants and Rhinos @ Bristol and London

Cat-Man

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Right heres the facts: Londons last 3 Asian Elephants went to whipsnade. What happend to there last African Elephants. What species of Rhinos were kept @ London (the last ones before they got away with them). What happend to the Elephants and Rhinos @ Bristol. What spieces of Rhino were kept at bristol?
 
London's last rhinos were Eastern Black Rhinos, Rosie who was hand-reasred there is now at Chester

London also had 1.1 White Rhinos, one of which was Northern and one Southern.

Bristol only had Eastern Black Rhinos recently, they were the first UK zoo to breed them.

I don't know where they went to.

I think London has kept all 5 rhino species in the past.
 
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I think London's last African elephant was the famous Pole Pole, who died at the age of 16, the black rhino were the last species held at Regents park.
Wendy was the last elephant kept at Bristol she died in 2002, she was an Asian elephant.
Bristol only kept black rhino and were the first zoo in Britain to breed them.
 
Jos was the last rhino to be kept at London, and I still remember seeing him shortly before he left when the elephants were already just gone back in November 2001. I heard he went to Paignton Zoo, though I could be mistaken.
 
Bristol only kept black rhino and were the first zoo in Britain to breed them.

Bristol had one pair of Black Rhino, imported from John Seago in the late 50's/early sixties. They were called Willie & Stephanie and lived in what is now the (modified) Pygmy hippo house which was purpose- built for the rhino pair. They had five calves but only the first two(both male) survived to maturity and were sent to Chester(Roger) and Dublin(Ronald) respectively.

None of Chester's current rhinos are related to them, but a number of Port Lympne's are,(and the calf born last year at Paignton too) as Howlett's original breeding male(Ringo/Baringo) was born at Dublin and so is descended from the Bristol Pair. After they died Bristol had another unrelated rhino on display at the zoo until that died too, but then they stopped keeping them as the enclosure was really far too small.
 
they stopped keeping them as the enclosure was really far too small.
I was going to say!
It seems too small for a rhino to even fit in there, let alone live there.
Does anyone have any photos of it while it held rhinos?
 
I was going to say!
It seems too small for a rhino to even fit in there, let alone live there.
Does anyone have any photos of it while it held rhinos?

The outside was a circular pit with low wall. Inside was two simple stalls and the viewing area as it still is. There are a couple of old postcards around that show the rhinos in it.
 
Willie and Stephanie were a very steady pair , I seem to remember a picture of a keeper milking Stephanie . I think the female that lived there after they died was Thelma who came from Southampton zoo .
 
Willie and Stephanie were a very steady pair , I seem to remember a picture of a keeper milking Stephanie . I think the female that lived there after they died was Thelma who came from Southampton zoo .

Correct, Correct & Correct.

1. Willie and Stephanie were fortunately still young when imported so well familiarised with each other by the time they matured for mating etc. A less compatable pair would have been really hard to introduce together and therefore breed from in that confined enclosure.

2. The keeper in the photo was Stan Evans- he had a very good relationship with those two rhinos. The five calves were Roger, Ronald then three females- Rowena, Rona and(maybe) Rebecca but the 3 females all died before reaching full growth. In this the pattern was similar to the Ape breeding at Bristol- early successes followed by repeated failures.

3. Thelma was intended as a mate (I think) for the Hollywood Estate male Rupert, who was born at Hanover Zoo and originally acquired as a mate for one of the zoo born females i.e. they planned to create a 2nd pair at Hollywood. Rupert was extremely highly strung and he and Thelma never met as he never came into the zoo. He ended up being sent to Whipsnade. Thelma was sent to Chester for mating but nothing happened. She looked a terrible mess shortly before she died at Bristol, having developed a skin disease which broke up her skin like crazy paving.:(
 
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Yes , Pertinax , I remember the bad state of Thelma's skin and seem to remember one of Chester Zoo's rhinos in the past having a similar problem .
 
Yes , Pertinax , I remember the bad state of Thelma's skin and seem to remember one of Chester Zoo's rhinos in the past having a similar problem .

Later a Vet from Regents Park asked me what I could recall about her condition as he was researching the problem, but I don't think I was able to help very much..
 
Yes , Pertinax , I remember the bad state of Thelma's skin and seem to remember one of Chester Zoo's rhinos in the past having a similar problem .

Yes, she did, but I can't remember which one it was.
 
Yes, she did, but I can't remember which one it was.

Chester's original female was 'Susie'- slightly stunted with a stumpy tale- but she nevertheless bred three calves with 'Roger'.

After her was Esther from London. It was probably one of those two.
 
I think that was Christina, and she died.
I would guess this was probably due to a foot problem, as both elephants were originally kept in an all concrete enclosure.
There's also a picture in my gallery; Her back foot looks pretty sore in the photo.
 
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