ZSL London Zoo Animals kept at london zoo in the past

C

Cat-Man

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Hi.
My freind keeps telling me about all the great animals that used to be kept at london zoo, could anyone replie:cool::cool::cool::cool::
 
Cat-Man, be prepared for a long list in this thread! ;)

London Zoo has held such a varied collection over the years...

From the top of my head:
Chimpanzees
Orang Utans
Asian and African Elephants
Black, White, Indian Rhinos
River Hippo
Polar Bear
Giant Panda
American Black Bear
Asiatic Black Bear
Kodiak Bear
Sloth Bear
African Lions
Jaguar
Koala (?)
Gaur
Arabian Oryx
Bongo
Markhor
Grey Wolf
Echidna (?)
Vampire Bats
Douc Langur
Sealions (not sure which species)
Red Panda
Wild Boar
Leopard (not sure which kinds though)
American Bison

etc, etc
 
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London had both long-nosed and short-nosed echidnas if I remember correctly.
 
The Clore Pavilion has almost been a zoo in itself. Over the years I can remember seeing:-
greater and lesser tree shrews
Mayotte brown lemurs
talapoins
yellow-throated marten
short-eared elephant shrew
common wombat
parma wallabies
Goodfellow's tree kangaroo
Malabar giant squirrel
weasel
dusky titis
margay
angwantibo
slender loris
slow loris
potto
lesser, red and fat-tailed mouse lemurs
Senegal and greater galagos (these species have been split up a lot recently)
douroucouli
kowari
hog badger
Chinese ferret badger
brush-tailed possum
striped possum
kiwi

Plus more rodents than you can shake a stick at - striped grass mice, spiny mice, nile rats, dormice (several species), cuis and a few species that have become popular pets - dwarf hamsters, degu and clawed jird (= Mongolian gerbil)

I think I liked the angwantibo and the kowari best.

Alan
 
I looked in my copy of Golden Days Historic Photographs of London Zoo and found photos of

lantern fly (family Fulgoridae) 1927

pike 1932

green turtle 1933

American alligator 1928

Jackson's three-horned chameleon 1926
komodo dragon 1928

four-lined snake 1938
Russell's viper 1934

ostrich 1914
king penguin 1914
black-footed penguin 1924
little egret 1928
shoebill 1926
adjutant stork 1923
red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) 1922
changeable hawk eagle 1923
kagu 1921
barn owl 1928
tawny frogmouth 1921

duck-billed platypus 1928
thylacine 1913
slender loris 1926
aye-aye 1913
hamadryas baboon 1923
Bornean orang utan 1916
giant anteater 1923
wolf 1935
brown bear 1927
grizzly bear 1924
giant panda 1939
red panda no date
kinkajou 1923
fossa 1913
caracal 1924
puma 1938
lion 1921
tiger 1935
leopard 1915
black leopard 1922
walrus 1923
californian sealion 1924
Asian elephant 1926
African elephant 1927
Indian rhinoceros 1913
Sumatran rhinoceros c.1910
Grevy's zebra 1927
Grant's zebra 1914
Damara zebra 1914
quagga c.1840
Prezwalski's horse 1927
common hippopotamus 1927
pygmy hippopotamus 1913
llama 1923
bactrian camel 1924
giraffe 1928
okapi 1935
takin 1923
 
as well as the ones already mentioned....these species were still present until the early 1980s at least, with a few such as the maned wolves, nyala and binturong appearing briefly in the collection in the 1990s

Bighorn sheep
Barbary sheep
Mouflon
Brown Pelican
Wild boar
Collared peccary
Lowland tapir
vicuna
american alligator
przewalski horse
nyala
greater kudu
blackbuck
roan antelope
american bison
canadian beaver
bateleur eagle
lappet-faced vulture
marabou stork
lar gibbon
mandrill
pig-tailed macaque
red ruffed lemur
mayotte brown lemur
Hamlyns monkey
Puma
Maned wolf
Bennett's cassowary
Single-wattled cassowary
Chilean Pudu
Aardvark (the females went to Africa Alive)
Hairy Armadillo
Fennec fox
Arabian Sand Cat
American Grey fox
Ocelot
Margay
Clouded leopard
Red Panda
Amur leopard
Persian leopard
Jaguar
Binturong
Cuban flamingo
Common seal
Cormorant
Gannet
Southern fur seal
Californian sealion
Black-tipped reef shark
Red-crowned crane
Stanley Crane
White-naped crane
Crested quetzal
African pygmy falcon
Brown kiwi
Brujin's echidna
Tasmanian devil
Common wombat
Prairie marmot
andean condor
golden eagle
parma wallaby
pine marten
white-faced saki
 
gentle lemur said:
The Clore Pavilion has almost been a zoo in itself. Over the years I can remember seeing:-
greater and lesser tree shrews
Mayotte brown lemurs
talapoins
yellow-throated marten
short-eared elephant shrew
common wombat
parma wallabies
Goodfellow's tree kangaroo
Malabar giant squirrel
weasel
dusky titis
margay
angwantibo
slender loris
slow loris
potto
lesser, red and fat-tailed mouse lemurs
Senegal and greater galagos (these species have been split up a lot recently)
douroucouli
kowari
hog badger
Chinese ferret badger
brush-tailed possum
striped possum
kiwi

Plus more rodents than you can shake a stick at - striped grass mice, spiny mice, nile rats, dormice (several species), cuis and a few species that have become popular pets - dwarf hamsters, degu and clawed jird (= Mongolian gerbil)

I think I liked the angwantibo and the kowari best.

Alan
Click to expand...

The Clore pavillion is (maybe was) almost a zoo in itself, I kind of like that. I was going to mention that you missed Saki monkeys of your list but Johnstonii said it.
Also:
Prevost Tree Squirrels
And a small rodent I can't remember the name of- something like broad-tailed dormouse. Its a small rodent with a tail that is like a feather.

What is happening with Tamanduas at London? I thought these had left the collection, but apparently not!
 
London Zoo had a Javan Rhino in Victorian times, but they only realised it was a Javan after it had died. I'll have to hit the books to give you more details.
 
Chris I know of

Fat Dormouse (Myoxius glis)
Hazel Dormouse (Muscardinus avellinus)
South African Bushy-tailed Dormouse (Graphiurus murinus)
Forest Dormouse (Dryomys nitedula)
Garden Dormouse (Eliomys quercinus)

The Clore is where I saw my furst ever wombat, Jamaica Hutia, Minne Downs Mouse, Cuis, Rock Cavy, Degu, Naked Mole Rat, Kiwi, Tasmanian Devil and Hog Badger; and probably many more species I have forgotten about.
 
According to my books, the Javan rhino was the only one ever seen at London, and the two photos I have are from 1875 & 1884. The rhino died in 1885, and , apparently, was dissected by Sir Frederick Treves, the eminent surgeon who befriended the "Elephant Man", Joseph Merrick! The book said that no Javan rhinos have been seen in captivity since the death of a male in Adelaide Zoo in 1907. This was the rhino that was only identified as Javan several decades after its death, I got me facts wrong, sorry.
 
bongorob said:
Chris I know of

Fat Dormouse (Myoxius glis)
Hazel Dormouse (Muscardinus avellinus)
South African Bushy-tailed Dormouse (Graphiurus murinus)
Forest Dormouse (Dryomys nitedula)
Garden Dormouse (Eliomys quercinus)

The Clore is where I saw my furst ever wombat, Jamaica Hutia, Minne Downs Mouse, Cuis, Rock Cavy, Degu, Naked Mole Rat, Kiwi, Tasmanian Devil and Hog Badger; and probably many more species I have forgotten about.
Click to expand...

Ah, must've been thinking of the G. murinus. Checked ISIS, and they still have them somewhere.
 
London Regent's Park Zoo was the only zoo in the world, who has kept four species of rhinos at the same time ! Between 1875 and 1885 they kept indian,javan,sumatran and black rhinos. ( the first white rhinos to a zoo in the world came in 1950 to Antwerp )

The old guidebooks before the second world war are full of rare animals.
 
London Zoo in Old Photographs 1852-1914 has some interesting photos.

Great Spotted Kiwi (Apteryx haastii) 1876 and 1895-1899
Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) 1860, 1912-1918
Kagu (Rhynochetus jubatus) 1862-1877, 1913-1915, 1941-1950
Pink-headed Duck (Rhodonessa caryophallacea) 1874, 1899-1901

Bruijn's Echidna (Zaglossus bruijni) 1912-1943
Grizzled Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus inustus) 1848-1852 and 1865
Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby (Petrogale xanthops) 1865-1894
Small-eared Dog (Atleocynus microtis) the type specimen for this species arrived at London in 1882.
Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes) between 1911-1914
Falkland Islands Wolf (Dusicyon australis) 1868
Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus) 1885
Mongollian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus hemionus) 1909-1918 Only one specimen was ever exhibited in England.
Syrian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus hemippus) 1869-1884
Cape Mountain Zebra (equus zebra zebra) 1899
Hairy-eared Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis lasiotis) 1872-1900. 33 years is still the longevity record for the species in captivity. The type specimen for the subspecies.
Pygmy Hog (Porcula savalinus) 1883-1886 and 1904
Persian Fallow Deer (Dama mesopotamica) 1908
Thailand Brow-antlered Deer (cervus eldi siamensis) 1899
Wallich's Deer (Cervus elephas wallichi) 1912-1926 Apparently the only one ever kept in the western world.
Bulbal Hartebeest (Alcelaphus bucephalus busephalus) 1883-1897 and 1906-1907
Klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus) 1896
Saiga (Saiga tatarica) 1866-1869

On 31 August 1902 Jenny a female Asian Elephant who had arrived pregnant from Sanger's Circus gave birth to a still-born calf.

Giraffes have been kept continuously at London Zoo since 1895.
 
"London Zoo in Old photographs: 1852-1914" is the source of my Javan Rhino info, and for anyone who doesn't have a copy, it is a fascinating book. Especially the photos of Jumbo, he looks enormous. Can you imagine a zoo nowadays allowing a mature 11ft high bull African elephant to take people for rides around the zoo!!!:eek:
 
In the book "Golden Days - Historic Photographs of the London Zoo" is a picture of a platypus, the photo was taken in 1928, but I coudn't find the animal in the guidebooks, so maybe it died the same year.
 
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