ZSL London Zoo Animals kept at london zoo in the past

[FBBird]

London Zoo had nine Sumatran rhinos in total.

The two long-lived specimens "Begum" and "Jackson" were both of the hairy-eared sub-species lasiotis and "Begum" was the type specimen.

The one you're referring to, with a very large front horn, was "Jackson"; this animal is on show in the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery.

"Begum" was at the zoo from 15th February 1872 until 31st August 1900.

"Jackson" was at the zoo from 27th April 1886 until 22nd November 1910.

Thanks Tim, saved me a job! Both considerably more than seventeen years then. Better than zoos seem to do nowadays. I often think that old Elephant House must have been pretty good.

Yes, I've heard Clin make a similar comment too; however, I tend to agree with you and suspect it may just be a coincidence. I guess we'll never know for sure.

It might also be relevant that both "Jackson" and "Begum" were in captivity for a couple of years before being sent to London. Consequently they had more time to adjust and probably found the long sea voyage less stressful than the recently captured wild rhinos did.

Wasn't there also one that produced a calf (wild conceived) in Calcutta before coming to London?

 

[Tim May]

Wasn't there also one that produced a calf (wild conceived) in Calcutta before coming to London?

Not sure about that. But there was a female Sumatran rhinoceros, pregnant when captured, that gave birth aboard the ship "Orchis" in the Victoria Docks, London, 7th December 1872.

Abraham Bartlett wrote an article about the birth for the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (1873). Sadly the calf did not live long; the female was shipped to America and was not acquired by London Zoo.

 

[Andrew Swales]

Sadly the calf did not live long; the female was shipped to America and was not acquired by London Zoo.

Are there any records of what sort of percentage of the animals received by London Zoo were shipped out / sold either immediately or soon after arrival? This would be the definition of a commercial dealer these days, but not then of course.
Were full records of the departures kept? - just wondering how many of the so called arrivals are in fact only 'paper' ones and never actually physically arrived at or stayed in the gardens...

 

[FBBird]

Not sure about that. But there was a female Sumatran rhinoceros, pregnant when captured, that gave birth aboard the ship "Orchis" in the Victoria Docks, London, 7th December 1872.

Abraham Bartlett wrote an article about the birth for the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (1873). Sadly the calf did not live long; the female was shipped to America and was not acquired by London Zoo.

That makes sense. My memory was partly at fault then.

 

[Pertinax]

It might also be relevant that both "Jackson" and "Begum" were in captivity for a couple of years before being sent to London. Consequently they had more time to adjust and probably found the long sea voyage less stressful than the recently captured wild rhinos did.

I've always been surprised that over such a long period, they didn't succumb to the Iron Storage Disease that was such a problem in the more recent American importations of this species. Yet 100 years ago London managed to keep them for much longer, and in apparent good health. What was their secret I wonder? I know Port Lympne did not seem to suffer any ISD with their Sumatran rhinos either afaik.

 

[Gavialis]

I've always been surprised that over such a long period, they didn't succumb to the Iron Storage Disease that was such a problem in the more recent American importations of this species. Yet 100 years ago London managed to keep them for much longer, and in apparent good health. What was their secret I wonder? I know Port Lympne did not seem to suffer any ISD with their Sumatran rhinos either afaik.

The Aspinall diet differed dramatically from the typical fare of just hay - no expense was spared! John Ironmonger reported the following in his Good Zoo Guide:

"They were fed upon three buckets of exotic fruits a day (flown in twice a week at a cost of £1,000 a time), and even their fresh hay was dipped in pineapple juice to make it more acceptable. Branches were cut for them from a carefully tended, unsprayed woodland."

I suspect this addition of browse and fruit is one reason why the animals at PL lived so long. Shame they were never given any reproductively viable animals...

 

[Tim May]

Are there any records of what sort of percentage of the animals received by London Zoo were shipped out / sold either immediately or soon after arrival? This would be the definition of a commercial dealer these days, but not then of course.
Were full records of the departures kept? - just wondering how many of the so called arrivals are in fact only 'paper' ones and never actually physically arrived at or stayed in the gardens...

London Zoo kept very detailed records of all acquisitions and departures. To answer your question as to the percentage of animals that were subsequently shipped out would probably necessitate a detailed analysis of the ZSL Daily Occurences Books.

The female Sumatran rhino that I mentioned above was the property of the animal dealer Rice; it was never owned by the ZSL or housed at London Zoo. Bartlett got involved because Rice wanted his advice about the young rhino.

 

[Bib Fortuna]

Thanks Tim, saved me a job! Both considerably more than seventeen years then. Better than zoos seem to do nowadays. I often think that old Elephant House must have been pretty good.

Was this old, gloomy elephant house really that good? It only had 8 stalls and was always full to the last stable with various elephants and four rhino species at once. At least 6 animals. However, it only had two outdoor areas, and most of the residents could not be kept together. That is, each animal came outside only for a few hours a day. Not to mention the small stables and outdoor enclosures. Was that so great?

 

[Ned]

The one you're referring to, with a very large front horn, was "Jackson"; this animal is on show in the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery.

I believe this rhino was badly badly burned in a fire caused by an air raid and had to be extensively restored. The original horn has been replaced by a fake one. The museum was so badly damaged that it's collection was moved into the art gallery next door, where it's still kept. The destroyed museum is now Browns restaurant.

 

[Andrew Swales]

London Zoo kept very detailed records of all acquisitions and departures. To answer your question as to the percentage of animals that were subsequently shipped out would probably necessitate a detailed analysis of the ZSL Daily Occurences Books.

The female Sumatran rhino that I mentioned above was the property of the animal dealer Rice; it was never owned by the ZSL or housed at London Zoo. Bartlett got involved because Rice wanted his advice about the young rhino.

Thanks Tim. I assumed that would be the case, but have often wondered how many of the huge list accumulated over the years, would not be considered 'real' arrivals or exhibits by our definitions today.
So often we read that such-and-such was shipped out...

 

[Pertinax]

"They were fed upon three buckets of exotic fruits a day (flown in twice a week at a cost of £1,000 a time), and even their fresh hay was dipped in pineapple juice to make it more acceptable. Branches were cut for them from a carefully tended, unsprayed woodland."

I suspect this addition of browse and fruit is one reason why the animals at PL lived so long. Shame they were never given any reproductively viable animals...

But I wonder how ZSL managed, 100 years earlier, to keep two animals alive for over 20 years each and presumably without access to such complex diets.

 

[FBBird]

Was this old, gloomy elephant house really that good? It only had 8 stalls and was always full to the last stable with various elephants and four rhino species at once. At least 6 animals. However, it only had two outdoor areas, and most of the residents could not be kept together. That is, each animal came outside only for a few hours a day. Not to mention the small stables and outdoor enclosures. Was that so great?

I based my opinion on the extreme longevities achieved by the occupants. While not up to present day standards, it had one if not two large bathing pools, which may have contributed to the animals’ well being.

 

[Gavialis]

But I wonder how ZSL managed, 100 years earlier, to keep two animals alive for over 20 years each and presumably without access to such complex diets.

I'm afraid I can't give you a definite answer but might be able to hazard a guess - apologies for the lengthy explanation that follows.

One reason may be that ISD is (at least in humans) a genetic disease and so is hereditary. It is caused by a recessive allele and, even then, only a small proportion of those that are homozygous recessive ever contract it.

To give a possible example, two rhinos - 'Emi' and her daughter 'Suci' - both died of ISD (and displayed similar symptoms) at the Cincinnati Zoo. But 'Suci's' father 'Ipuh' died of cancer aged 33 and neither of her brothers ('Andalas' and 'Harapan') exhibited any symptoms during their time in Cincinnati. All five animals were kept at the same zoo and so, presumably, were exposed to similar conditions and diets. Perhaps genetics could account for this disparity.

Similarly, it is possible that ZSL was lucky enough to acquire two animals that were not homozygous recessive and thus not susceptible to ISD - whatever their diets. I should stress though that this is based on an understanding of ISD in humans - I don't know whether it is the same in rhinos. This hypothesis is not original - Cincinnati Zoo has suggested something along similar lines - but is still unproven.

 

[DavidBrown]

@Tim May How many types of giraffes from the 9 currently recognized subspecies has London Zoo kept over the centuries?

 

[Zorro]

The Aspinall diet differed dramatically from the typical fare of just hay - no expense was spared! John Ironmonger reported the following in his Good Zoo Guide:

"They were fed upon three buckets of exotic fruits a day (flown in twice a week at a cost of £1,000 a time), and even their fresh hay was dipped in pineapple juice to make it more acceptable. Branches were cut for them from a carefully tended, unsprayed woodland."

I suspect this addition of browse and fruit is one reason why the animals at PL lived so long. Shame they were never given any reproductively viable animals...

Quite true I was shown into one of the cold rooms years ago and indeed there was an array of fresh tropical fruits, Yes the first female they had was caught in a poachers snare and had an injured led also not a young animal, The in door barn even had an electric heated mud hole.

 

[Pertinax]

I'm afraid I can't give you a definite answer but might be able to hazard a guess - apologies for the lengthy explanation that follows.

One reason may be that ISD is (at least in humans) a genetic disease and so is hereditary. It is caused by a recessive allele and, even then, only a small proportion of those that are homozygous recessive ever contract it.

To give a possible example, two rhinos - 'Emi' and her daughter 'Suci' - both died of ISD (and displayed similar symptoms) at the Cincinnati Zoo. But 'Suci's' father 'Ipuh' died of cancer aged 33 and neither of her brothers ('Andalas' and 'Harapan') exhibited any symptoms during their time in Cincinnati. All five animals were kept at the same zoo and so, presumably, were exposed to similar conditions and diets. Perhaps genetics could account for this disparity.

Similarly, it is possible that ZSL was lucky enough to acquire two animals that were not homozygous recessive and thus not susceptible to ISD - whatever their diets. I should stress though that this is based on an understanding of ISD in humans - I don't know whether it is the same in rhinos. This hypothesis is not original - Cincinnati Zoo has suggested something along similar lines - but is still unproven.

Thankyou for those suggestions. I too was a bit perplexed as to why Emi and Suci both suffered from ISD but Ipuh and some of the other Sumatran rhinos in the USA, e.g. Rapunzel(?), didn't die from this. It wasn't all, just some of them, or even perhaps only mother and daughter at Cincinnati?

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

A species not mentioned yet and from which London was the first keeper is the Scaly-naped amazon ( Amazona mercenaria ). !882 the first specimen came to London and also in the 1960-ties a bird of this species seemed to have been kept.
This species is very rare in captivity and now-a-days only Loro Parque has this species.

It might be rare in captivity outside of the Americas but I'm pretty sure that this species must be kept in at least one of the major South American Zoos across its range.

It is probably also found in dozens of sanctuaries for animals rescued from the illegal pet trade / traffickers as parrots and particularly of the Amazona genus (due to the ability to talk making them popular pets in the region) are constantly ending up confiscated and placed in these.

 

[Tim May]

@Tim May How many types of giraffes from the 9 currently recognized subspecies has London Zoo kept over the centuries?

@DavidBrown
I'm sorry, David, but that's a very difficult question and one I'm not able to answer.

Checking old ZSL species lists shows that many specimens are just listed as "giraffe" with no sub-species listed and, where sub-species names are given, they are not necessarily valid today.

It's a fascinating subject but one that needs a lot of investigation.

 

[Dassie rat]

ZTL lists the following subspecies living at London Zoo at some time:
Cape giraffe (G.c. giraffa)
Kordofan giraffe (G.c. antiquorum)
Reticulated giraffe (G.c. reticulata)
Rothschild's giraffe (G.c. rothschildi)
West African giraffe (G.c. peralta)

It doesn't list the Masai giraffe (G.c. tippelskirchi), although I think I saw one at London Zoo a few decades ago.

 

[Tim May]

ZTL lists the following subspecies living at London Zoo at some time:
Cape giraffe (G.c. giraffa)
Kordofan giraffe (G.c. antiquorum)
Reticulated giraffe (G.c. reticulata)
Rothschild's giraffe (G.c. rothschildi)
West African giraffe (G.c. peralta)

It doesn't list the Masai giraffe (G.c. tippelskirchi), although I think I saw one at London Zoo a few decades ago.

Thanks for this. I should have looked at ZTL instead of searching through old ZSL species lists!