ZSL London Zoo Bank Holiday at London Zoo

[Pertinax]

It sounds something like those notorious 1950's behavioural sink experiments with overpopulated rats in crowded spaces. Horrifying and I agree absolutely unnatural.

I don't know why there was such a huge imbalance, whether it derived from the ratio when they first got them, or from overproduction of males on site, I suspect perhaps the latter, but they were obviously never managed at all.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I don't know why there was such a huge imbalance, whether it derived from the ratio when they first got them, or from overproduction of males on site, I suspect perhaps the latter, but they were obviously never managed at all.

The lack of management on display during those times almost sounds pathological, sadistic and deeply apathetic.

 

[Pertinax]

The lack of management on display during those times almost sounds pathological, sadistic and deeply apathetic.

I wouldn't call it sadistic, more ignorance and apathy. Of course to the public such a display would seem quite normal if they weren't aware of the problems it created.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I wouldn't call it sadistic, more ignorance and apathy. Of course to the public such a display would seem quite normal if they weren't aware of the problems it created.

I don't know about that, I mean to me it seems that these kind of dynamics were almost skewed by design, almost as if it was some kind of very dark behavioural sink experiment.

But then again, yes, these were different times and people had different attitudes, so could be.

 

[Dassie rat]

I am not sure if they weren't later replaced with Rhesus which another clip shows.

From memory, I think Rhesus macaques replaced the baboons on Monkey Hill

 

[FBBird]

I don't know why there was such a huge imbalance, whether it derived from the ratio when they first got them, or from overproduction of males on site, I suspect perhaps the latter, but they were obviously never managed at all.

The intention was to display males only, with the idea that there would be less conflict. A few females got included in the shipment by mistake, causing a LOT of conflict and mistaken ideas about the level of violence in baboon society

 

[Tim May]

From memory, I think Rhesus macaques replaced the baboons on Monkey Hill

Yes the baboons on Monkey Hill were replaced with rhesus macaques although, according to the 1951 London Zoo guide, Monkey Hill housed wallabies.

 

[Ned]

Are the elephants collecting money? they seem to taking handouts from the crowed and hand them up to the keeper.

I'm surprised how large monkey hill was, in the clip it looks likes a sizeable enclosure.

 

[Tim May]

New Are the elephants collecting money? they seem to taking handouts from the crowed and hand them up to the keeper.

I don't know if the elephants are collecting money in this film but, as a small child in the late 1950s / early 1960s, I recall that the elephants would accept coins from the visitors and pass them onto their keeper.

I'm surprised how large monkey hill was, in the clip it looks likes a sizeable enclosure.

Monkey Hill was an oval shaped enclosure about a hundred feet long.

 

[Pertinax]

I don't know if the elephants are collecting money in this film but, as a small child in the late 1950s / early 1960s, I recall that the elephants would accept coins from the visitors and pass them onto their keeper.

I remember seeing this at Whipsnade too, they would bring the elephants out on to the lawn in front of the house. I think they were trained to put the coins straight in to the keeper's pocket.