Does anyone know if glasgow zoo still houses any animals is there a private collection there or a collection of anysort. according to isis they still house prehensile tailed porcupine but i thought it nolonger existed.
Glasgow Zoo (Closed) Glasgow zoo
- Thread starter robertwestby
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zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
Last i heard there was a few Domestic animals on site but the rest was empty,as for any ISIS listing just a case of the dreaded ISIS ghosts animals again.
There are no animals left at Calderpark. The few domestic animals that remained after its closure belonged to Georgie Gold but I understand he has now also vacated the premises.
Thanks for the info guys.
bigcat speciali
Well-Known Member
Glasgow Zoo does not exist any more, we closed down to the public in August 2003 and we closed down fully in December 2003.
We did house both North American Porcs and Cape Porcs...our Cape Porcs went to a wildlife and theme park in Ayrshire, and sadly our Tree Porc had to be put down - due to old age and a mouth tumour.
Hope that has helped answer your question....
bigcat speciali
Well-Known Member
Yes, George has gone as well as his few animals that he had....I do believe that he is somewhere in England....
sooty mangabey
Well-Known Member
I have a feeling that when kilverstone closed down, Glasgow got their prehensile-tailed porcupines. But I may be wrong!
bigcat speciali
Well-Known Member
Glasgow Zoo had prehensile-tailed porc's many, many years ago...Being the last senior keeper and keeper to leave the zoo when it closed, I can say that Glasgow Zoo did not have any prehensile-tailed porc's for some fifteen years before it closed...the zoo animal records show that.
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
bigcat speciali
Well-Known Member
Just for the record....THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL SITE.
Currently this site and some others DO-NOT speak for the the zoo, they have been warned to retract their comments.
There are NO...NO animals or any buildings on the current grounds of the West of Scotland Zoological Society - Formly that of Glasgow Zoopark, or Calderpark Zoo.
The photographs taken and shown on this site are some three plus years old, the facts and information are vague and not crrrect, its vexatious and criminally wrong. Currently Miller Homes who have built houses on some of the old Zoo land - from the Baillieston end upto the old bear house, rhino enclosure, to the back of the tropical house and all of the car-boot sale ground. The rest of the land which is still owned by the Zoological Society remains as such however, the buildings have long gone, burnt to the ground by the local riff-raff and most of the scrap sold or stolen. There are NO animals on the grounds. NO animals.....
I am very sad, as well as upset, by the continued lack of respect and factual findings by these weird so called ANTI-ZOO groups, and online sites. I am also sadend that the above thread (Secret Scotland) was posted on the Zoo News Digest Forum.
Those people who continue to run down the great work that we at Glasgow did, with the care and upmost dedication that was given. I am deeply sadened by these so called groups....
Noted was Graham Law's comments, althought old comments they were welcomed at the time...
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zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
Well i`m sorry if i caused you any offence i only put the site up so that people could see what the zoo looked like after it had closed,because many of us never visited the place before it closed or indeed after it had closed,and finally i certainly didn`t do it to decry any of the good work that any of the staff from the zoo did while they worked their.
bigcat speciali
Well-Known Member
No offence taken...with Glasgow Zoo closed and has now long gone, even the so-called Zoological Society of the West of Scotland (Glasgow Zoopark) although gone, still have their tea & biscuit meetings ! The Zoo can not defend itself and there has been so many people taking potshots at the zoo, or who claim they worked there - when they never did. Its sadly left to some of the old staff to help defend and help put to an end most of the ill-founded sladerous rubbish that seems to pop up in the press and internet. So, no offence taken....
The group that took these pictures and posted their misinformed crass broke into the zoo grounds, caused damage themselves and without asking or checking with the owners / zoological society and previous staff on facts. Then information will always come out that is non-factual, damaging and illegal.
Sadly though, even when the zoo was closed and we were finding homes for the animal stock, the zoological society failed to manage the fabric of such animal movements, and of course the correct dispossing of personal material and paperwork. Hence why the senior keepers like myself took charge of animal movements, whereas the so-called management ran away and hid their heads in the sand ! I make no bones about the inferior and pathetic management that was the zoological society...but when it comes to the great work that us keepers did, both while the zoo was functioning and when closed...the words bloody marvelous and brilliant can never show enough how much our dedication and brilliance shone during those days...we came up with the tiger feeding pole, held longivity records, famous for our cat husbandry and reptile breeding. When zoos like Glasgow close...yes its sad, and in ways such an old zoo had its days numbered. But the history and its developments outweigh many of the ills and woes...
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
So you where the first to use the Tiger feeding pole,South Lakes used to claim that one in their Tiger feeding talks!
bigcat speciali
Well-Known Member
Yes Glasgow Zoo was the first...Dave Gill and staff may lay claim to many things, while certain heads grow even bigger but they never have and never will or did come up with this idea..
If you care to look in the UFAW "Environmental Enrichment for Captive Aniamls" by Robert Young...on page 91 there is a an old picture of our tigers, enclosure and pole taken at Glasgow, as are the pictures on pages 94-96 regarding cat enrichment. Furthermore, you shall find reference to the pole and enrichment of cats in the ABWAK "Guidelines for Enrichment" book as well as, within various editions of the International Zoo Yearbook and various papers writen by some staff from Glasgow Zoo within certain well-known zoological and animal husbandry institutions.
You will find through the great work that Graham Law and the rest of us done on enrichment, most zoos have now benefited.....
So...South Lakes did not come up with this idea nor have they came up with any other idea, big heads that spring silly big mouth moments..
bigcat speciali
Well-Known Member
Again...just for the record...
South Lakes Wild Animal Park opened up in 1993/4...where as Glasgow Zoo had been operating since 1948, before that was run as a semi-zoo under various names. The feeding pole came into development when Glasgow Zoo had its Tiger house (ADIMULA's Den) back in 1984, built. Take note that the UFAW Enrichment book came out in 1991, the International Zoo year books are also pre-dating that of South Lakes... Graham Law etc were noted even back then for their advancement into animal enrichment and research...I picked the tail end of his work when he left, and while at Glasgow developed a very basic but highly useful enrichment training tool of a hand-cranked lure for the Cheetah's, (which many zoos now and still use) and also helped discover that Cheetah's and some other big cats suffer from Acid Reflux, to the point of ulceration and tumours. What we did at Glasgow may be long ago now however, its all well documented. Also remembering that we were noted for breeding our black cats, other cat species and white/golden tigers. We had Europes largest bear enlosure that won many awards - as did our research into bears (Himalayan Bears) and that of our well-known husbandry and breeding of Reptiles such as the Gila Monsters. We broke longitity records..had one of the very first white rhino to enter captivity at studbook number 90.
Many folk wish they did see the zoo however, even I as the last person to leave will say this...at its end, the zoo was a former shadow of her once formal self. A grand old lady who through the lack of care from the upper management and lack of good financial acumen, this old lady had to be closed...May be one day Glasgow may get a new zoo however, under the current climate of anti-zoo fanatics, anti-zoo labour run councils and government, and inward thinking locals...then such a zoo will most likely never happen again.
Regards.
South Lakes Wild Animal Park opened up in 1993/4...where as Glasgow Zoo had been operating since 1948, before that was run as a semi-zoo under various names. The feeding pole came into development when Glasgow Zoo had its Tiger house (ADIMULA's Den) back in 1984, built. Take note that the UFAW Enrichment book came out in 1991, the International Zoo year books are also pre-dating that of South Lakes... Graham Law etc were noted even back then for their advancement into animal enrichment and research...I picked the tail end of his work when he left, and while at Glasgow developed a very basic but highly useful enrichment training tool of a hand-cranked lure for the Cheetah's, (which many zoos now and still use) and also helped discover that Cheetah's and some other big cats suffer from Acid Reflux, to the point of ulceration and tumours. What we did at Glasgow may be long ago now however, its all well documented. Also remembering that we were noted for breeding our black cats, other cat species and white/golden tigers. We had Europes largest bear enlosure that won many awards - as did our research into bears (Himalayan Bears) and that of our well-known husbandry and breeding of Reptiles such as the Gila Monsters. We broke longitity records..had one of the very first white rhino to enter captivity at studbook number 90.
Many folk wish they did see the zoo however, even I as the last person to leave will say this...at its end, the zoo was a former shadow of her once formal self. A grand old lady who through the lack of care from the upper management and lack of good financial acumen, this old lady had to be closed...May be one day Glasgow may get a new zoo however, under the current climate of anti-zoo fanatics, anti-zoo labour run councils and government, and inward thinking locals...then such a zoo will most likely never happen again.
Regards.
bigcat speciali
Well-Known Member
Have many pictures as well as the original plans of the bear house and enclosures. We had enclosures, one at an acre and a half, the others was almost four acres.
bigcat speciali
Well-Known Member
Chester Zoo took charge some of Glasgow Zoos reptiles, and we had Tim Rowlands, John Frost, Nick Davies, Mr Edwards visit us on numerous occassions. On the closure of the zoo we sent to many zoos around the UK and some in Europe, our animal stock. At the time and as far as I understand, it was the largest movement of zoo taxa to be dispersed to other collections. As for bear pictures and other animals, and their enclosures...Yes, I do have many as well as certain floor plans for some enclosure buildings. Please email me if you need copyrighted copies.
Regards...
Regards...