Male Drill Feb 1972

This animal was called "Ugly", he was the last Drill at Chessington, he had sired at least two young , and killed a female mate also, which is why he was kept alone thereafter.
This rare photo shows the cage style of the zoo during the 60s and 70s.

I vaguely remember these raised cages with wooden floors. Don't remember seeing this Drill but I know Chessington had bred them.

Pertinax said:

I vaguely remember these raised cages with wooden floors. Don't remember seeing this Drill but I know Chessington had bred them.

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Yes this one was situated quite centrally, in front of where the sealion and polar bear enclosures were, so in front of the polar bears really.
Other similar cages contained Puma, Striped Hyena, various other single primates such as large macaques and baboons. The Drills bred in 1955 and the offspring went on to the Hotham Park Zoo in Bognor.I think the male Drill "Ugly" died not long after the photo was taken ? But he was definately the last of his species to live there.
Leopards, tigers and lions originally. There was a triangular one near the giraffes which held Puma, then another similar one holding Striped Hyena down by the newer lion and tiger enclosures. The old lion and tiger cages were the first to be knocked down when the newer ones were built, but the Hyena cage remained into the early 80s in fact. There were similar cages attached to the old "boar shed" too which later became a veterinary facility, just in front and to the left of the old sealion pool.

Nanook said:

The Drills bred in 1955 and the offspring went on to the Hotham Park Zoo in Bognor.

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And my guess is maybe the male Drill that was at Drusillas in the 1970's came from Hotham Park- not that far away. The Drusillas male was castrated- he was also supposed to be the last Drill in the UK( of that era). He died about 1977 but London and Chester still had them around the same time and may in fact have had them until later than that.

Pertinax said:

And my guess is maybe the male Drill that was at Drusillas in the 1970's came from Hotham Park- not that far away. The Drusillas male was castrated- he was also supposed to be the last Drill in the UK( of that era). He died about 1977 but London and Chester still had them around the same time and may in fact have had them until later than that.

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I think there is more about the Hotham Park Drill(s) in that excellent little book about the zoo. I have some more details about them when they were at Chessington somewhere.

Any Drill info you have would be interesting. Before they died out in the UK, Drills had been quite well represented in our Zoos- as well as Chessington, Bristol, Paignton & Jersey all kept and bred them in the 1950/60's era, (there may have been others too) while London and Chester still had them in the 1970's. After they died out there was a forty year hiatus before they returned- to Port Lympne, and are now also at Edinburgh, Bristol(again) and Africa Alive.

Pertinax said:

Any Drill info you have would be interesting. Before they died out in the UK, Drills had been quite well represented in our Zoos- as well as Chessington, Bristol, Paignton & Jersey all kept and bred them in the 1950/60's era, (there may have been others too) while London and Chester still had them in the 1970's. After they died out there was a forty year hiatus before they returned- to Port Lympne, and are now also at Edinburgh, Bristol(again) and Africa Alive.

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I will dig it out. Regarding Drills - you will find this hard to believe, as I did at the time, but I actually saw a young (female?) Drill in a back room of a rather grotty bird dealer`s establishment in Essex around 1989. It was the last place I expected to see such a rarity, I believe it may either have been a new import or had been deposited there briefly as a surplus animal, I did return to the same place shortly afterwards, in fact I bought birds from there, but the Drill had gone.I regret not asking about it at the time.

Chessington had kept Drills since c1932, the first I believe was a young animal called Johnnie 18/4/32. Apparently they first bred in the early 1950`s but their second offspring, a female was born in August 1955. This second animal went on to Hotham Park Zoo in Bognor probably between 1955-57, because a young Drill was sold for £15 around May 1957 presumeably to Hotham ? A year before, May 1956 one Drill (adult?) had died. One Drill also arrived in 1955 as a gift. In October 1959 a male Drill (3rd birth ?) was born
but died at three weeks of age. By 30th June 1958 the zoo held a trio of Drills. But by 1959 only a pair were left. On the 30th June 1963 the pair were still there. The pair were still there in 1968, then between 1968 and 1972 the female probably died and the last Drill male "Ugly" was left. I think he too died not long afterwards ?

good info. Maybe there isn't any connection between Chessington and the Drusillas male Drill then, I don't know. But Hotham and Drusillas are suspiciously near each other....

Pertinax said:

good info. Maybe there isn't any connection between Chessington and the Drusillas male Drill then, I don't know. But Hotham and Drusillas are suspiciously near each other....

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Thank you , well I don`t know because Hotham had a pair of Serval which later went on to Drusillas when it closed, so perhaps a Drill went too ??