As the collection, was used as a holding station for animals arriving in the U.K. i would guess that not all elephants and orther large, apes, ungalates and carnivours would of been listed, as some where only here a matter of wks or days before being moved on.
O
Oolon Colluphid
I was a regular visitor to the zoo back in the early '70s. It was both magical and awful, and I didn't realise the 'awful' at the time. The animals were right there, in front of you. I'll never forget feeding popcorn to the elephant and giraffes -- it was an incredible, intimate experience. No long-distance viewing, nor even seeing it on the telly, can let you appreciate just how fantastically dexterous -- and hairy! -- an elephant's trunk is.
By comparison, when we first went to Marwell (in '73), it was a disappointment. "Oh, that little blob off in the distance is a cheetah is it?" Binoculars are still a good idea at Marwell.
There's no question which is better for the animals, of course Southampton Zoo was nothing but concrete, and the enclosures were appallingly small, especially for the big cats, which were basically in cages.
Can you remember the name of the elephant pictured? I used to work at Southampton zoo and I am trying to trace what happened to the Elephant. I thought her name was Tanya but my memory is diabolical, I have tried other means of trying to find her but no luck so far. Then I came across this forum. Hope you can help
There was an elephant called tanya there as my mum used to work there also. Will have to upload her photos of her with the bears. Washing tanya and feeding the otters.x
There was an elephant called tanya there as my mum used to work there also. Will have to upload her photos of her with the bears. Washing tanya and feeding the otters.x
The Tanya you mention could well be the Tanya that is now at Colchester Zoo. She was wild born in about 1981 and may well have passed through Southampton Zoo. She belonged to the Chipperfields (Longleat) before going to Colchester in 1985ish.
@Droopy964 what year was tanya at southampton as , the original herd of elephants at west midlands safari park had an elephant called tanya as west mids was part of the chipperfield organisation in the 70s tanya could well of gone to west mids
from southampton . in the late 80s when west mids decided to go out of elephants the last remaining ele went to longleat this was tanya . , unfortunately tanya has passed away now , hope this helps .
