From the dates you give, this must be Toto, Chalklion.
Dicksie's horrible demise- which I remember very clearly, even though I was only 4 - was in 1967; the equally ill-fated Pole Pole arrived as a calf in 1968.
Dicksie fell into the outdoor moat- probably she toppled in while reaching out for food from a visitor, but there's also a possibility another elephant nudged her as well. She could not be extracated from the moat and either died or had to be euthanased as I believe one of her tusks was driven into her head by the fall.
PolePole was donated to the Zoo after she had starred with the actors Bill Travers and Virginia Mkenna in an African-based film titled 'An elephant called Slowly'- (Pole Pole means Slowly) As she grew up at London Pole Pole became increasingly truculent and difficult to handle- some people said she was 'deranged' or 'had gone mad' due to the housing. The resultant bad publicity meant the Zoo made quick plans to move her to Whipsnade but I think she died (of a heart attack?) while attempts were being made to crate her for the journey.
It was this experience with Pole Pole that caused Mkenna/Travers to become heavily 'antizoo' and create 'Zoocheck' and the Born Free Foundation.
Dicksie died while attempts were still being made to extricate her from the moat; she had a broken leg.
PolePole was euthanised after she collapsed while attempts were being made to crate her. It has been suggested that she was a 'difficult' elephant, which Dicksie was not.
PolePole was euthanised after she collapsed while attempts were being made to crate her. It has been suggested that she was a 'difficult' elephant, which Dicksie was not.
Yes, they may have been temperamentally different- also Dicksie was a mature 'Zoo' elephant whereas Pole Pole was much younger. The third African 'Toto' (in this picture) seems not to get mentioned very much.
From speaking with keepers and others who remember them, all three were hard to manage. But to be fair, the Casson pavilion was not a building that lent itself to elephant management.
It would be very interesting to know what brief Sir Hugh Casson was given for this building. At the end of the day, an architect carries out the instructions of his client...
