I doubt it; I think that keeping the elephants underground was far from satisfactory. Despite the many criticisms of the Casson Pavilion, I’m sure that the indoor accommodation provided by that structure was preferable to the subterranean dens the animals previously had.
Also, though I can't remember what the substrate in the old outdoor enclosure was (concrete?), I'm sure the sanded paddock in the Casson was better for their feet and there were proper bathing facilities too.
We’re going back about 46 years (and I was only a child at the time) but, if I remember correctly, there was a sand substrate to Casson Pavilion’s outdoor elephant enclosure when the building first opened.
EDIT Since typing the above, I've checked the ZSL Annual Report for 1965, the year the Casson Pavilion opened; this describes the paddocks as having a gravel substrate.
We’re going back about 46 years (and I was only a child at the time) but, if I remember correctly, there was a sand substrate to Casson Pavilion’s outdoor elephant enclosure when the building first opened.
EDIT Since typing the above, I've checked the ZSL Annual Report for 1965, the year the Casson Pavilion opened; this describes the paddocks as having a gravel substrate.
I think the reason I didn't have a clear memory of the outdoor Casson flooring material is because of the 'lip' around the moat edge which rather obscured what the Elephants were walking on. Similarly when they bathed in the outdoor pool they were semi-hidden from view.
I can remember the Elephants far more clearly in the indoor areas of the Casson.
When I last visited the London Zoo in 2001 there were still Asian elephants at the zoo. Was there any outcry when they closed down the elephant program at the zoo, or was it universally recognized that there was not enough room for them?
Has there ever been talk of building a modern elephant complex at the zoo, or is there not enough room for that to ever happen? I'm guessing the latter, but am not familiar with master plan for this zoo.
