Can anyone tell me more about this photo ??
It is a poor shot I know, not taken by me, but I believe it was taken in the 1960`s ?
My feelings are that it could either be London Zoo or Whipsnade possibly ??
There is a sign on the wall, above the Giant Panda on its wooden platform, though it is very difficult to determine.
Any thoughts are very wlecome ???
I think this is Chi-chi (London Zoo) in her final home, the last enclosure of what I believe were the 'Cattle Sheds'. This is where she was said to have made friends with a wild ass in the adjoining enclosure. Pretty sure there were Northern White Rhino in this range as well.
Yes, it is London- ChiChi (or the Russian male AnAn but I would say ChiChi by the less bulky shape) in the old Cattlesheds enclosure which was her last home. I recognise the wall with viewing windows on the right, the wooden/log frame the Panda is sitting in and you can see the end of the cattle sheds(back left) building which formed the offshow indoors.
This is half of the whole enclosure which was divided in two when the male came from Moscow. After he left an Onager used the other half - see FBBird's comment above..
Fascinating, i never knew the pandas were kept in the old cattle house, i only knew of the cages in the Sobell pavillion and the little pit in the south gardens.
Every day is a school day, sorry to mislead you Nanook.
On that thread Shirokuma posted a b/w Flickr photo actually showing the two Pandas together in the other half of this enclosure. AnAn is resting on the logs and that's ChiChi at the back- presumably trying to get indoors and away from him...
For those to young to remember where the old cattle sheds were this photo is roughly where the lion enclosure is now. Chi chi was living in it at the time of her death in 1972 I think.
Looking at the film of Chi-chi being moved from her pit, it is interesting to see a keeper in with her. This was after she had seriously mauled another keeper who was never able to work with her again.
