Basildon Zoo

yolande surcouf (From Echo)

Yolande Andree SURCOUF Of Basildon Zoo Passed away peacefully after a short illness on the 6th May 2015 aged 70. Funeral service to be held at Basildon Crematorium at 12pm on 27th May 2015. No flowers please. Donations on the day if desired for Brain Tumour Research. A beautiful soul has passed, but the memories will never fade
 
yolande surcouf (From Echo)

Yolande Andree SURCOUF Of Basildon Zoo Passed away peacefully after a short illness on the 6th May 2015 aged 70. Funeral service to be held at Basildon Crematorium at 12pm on 27th May 2015. No flowers please. Donations on the day if desired for Brain Tumour Research. A beautiful soul has passed, but the memories will never fade

An interesting lady, I met her at the zoo once and she couldn`t have been nicer to me, and even offering me a job there, however I know she could be quite feisty with others at times shall we say!!
 
Memories of Basildon Zoo

I worked at Basildon Zoo in the early 1990's and remain good friends with the family. Sadly Yolande Surcouf passed away last year. Species held at the zoo included lion, leopard (spotted and melanistic), European Lynx, servals, leopard cats (inc. Amur subspecies at one time), Lesser spot-nosed guenon, Brown capuchin, squirrel monkey, cotton-topped tamarin, common marmoset, white-fronted and red-fronted lemurs, thick-tailed bush baby, Arctic foxes, raccoons, short-clawed otters, porcupine, wallaby (Bennetts), guanaco. Also a large collection of parrots and birds of prey, plus occlude domestics. The zoo closed early 2002 but the pet shop remains with the rest of the land (4.5 acres or 1.8 hectares) currently for sale for redevelopment.
 
I worked at Basildon Zoo in the early 1990's and remain good friends with the family. Sadly Yolande Surcouf passed away last year. Species held at the zoo included lion, leopard (spotted and melanistic), European Lynx, servals, leopard cats (inc. Amur subspecies at one time), Lesser spot-nosed guenon, Brown capuchin, squirrel monkey, cotton-topped tamarin, common marmoset, white-fronted and red-fronted lemurs, thick-tailed bush baby, Arctic foxes, raccoons, short-clawed otters, porcupine, wallaby (Bennetts), guanaco. Also a large collection of parrots and birds of prey, plus occlude domestics. The zoo closed early 2002 but the pet shop remains with the rest of the land (4.5 acres or 1.8 hectares) currently for sale for redevelopment.

So is that the former zoo-site, and petshop, that is for sale ? Any more details on that ?? Are the old enclosures still there or cleared now?
 
Not sure if the pet shop is included or will be retained by the owners. The old enclosures are still there but overgrown and I'd imagine beyond repair. It's a shame as I'm sure now it would be more commercially viable to have a small collection in Basildon but the 1990's were far harder
 
Not sure if the pet shop is included or will be retained by the owners. The old enclosures are still there but overgrown and I'd imagine beyond repair. It's a shame as I'm sure now it would be more commercially viable to have a small collection in Basildon but the 1990's were far harder

I don`t suppose you have any photos of it as it is now do you?
There is something quite eerie and sad about a disused zoo site.
I last visited in 1989 and remember it well.
 
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