These are the only pictures I have but it certainly looks like there. The male, Buta was given to the zoo in 1932 by King George V and the female Zendy was a gift from the Belgian government in 1949.
I always wish I could have seen this building, the paddocks always look rather spacious in pictures I have seen.
Does anyone know how long these okapi lived? Apparently the male was born circa 1929 and they can live up to around 30 in captivity.
This was one of my favourite London Zoo buildings and I was sorry when it was demolished.
In addition to deer and cattle it housed a range of other animals over the years including the black rhino “Lorna”, the Northern white rhino “Ben”, the famous giant panda “Chi-Chi”.....
The other side of this building housed deer and subsequently a good collection of wild dogs.
I never saw okapis in this building, they died before I was born but, checking the on-line okapi database, ‘Buta’ died in 1950 and ‘Zendy’ died in 1952.
NB According to the on-line okapi database, ‘Buta’ arrived at the zoo in 1937 not 1932. (I don’t think that London Zoo had an okapi until 1935.)
The accompanying article in the Illustrated London News from July 30, 1949 states that Buta was 'deposited' at the zoo in 1932 by George V but it also says that Buta 'had not seen another of his species for twelve years' until Zendy's arrival in 1949 which implies arrival in 1937. However George V died in 1936.
I never saw okapis in this building, they died before I was born but, checking the on-line okapi database, ‘Buta’ died in 1950 and ‘Zendy’ died in 1952.
I had no idea they had a pair of Okapi at ZSL at this time and have never seen photos of them in the Cattle sheds before.
I've been in the inside of that Building and remember a long corridor with ungulate stalls(?) on one side and smaller pens on the other. I remember the Canid collection too. I was taken in with some Dingoes there once.
I've been in the inside of that Building and remember a long corridor with ungulate stalls(?) on one side and smaller pens on the other. I remember the Canid collection too. I was taken in with some Dingoes there once.
When I was a small child the interior of the Deer & Cattle Sheds was open to visitors and I went inside many times; that was in the days when one side of the building was used for deer. After the deer were transferred to the lower level of the Cotton Terraces, and the old deer accommodation was used for dogs, the building was invariably closed to the public and, to my frustration, I never went inside again.
I remember the old Cattle Sheds well, but did not know there was ever public acess inside. Would it be too much to hope that anyone has photos of the inside? The other place I would like to see inside views of is the 19th century Elephant House.
