Maidstone Zoo guidebook.
- Thread starter Pertinax
- Start date
I have a copy of the 1940 Maidstone guide.
Amongst the animals listed are:-
The only Chinese tiger in captivity, captured at ten days old in Amoy, in 1936.
Three Asiatic elephants: two young Burmese elephants “Gert” and “Daisy” (imported in May 1936) and a fifteen year old Indian elephant “Lizzie”.
Four different species of bear:- sun, polar, sloth and (European) brown.
Both spotted and striped hyaena.
I am not at home at the moment but should be able to provide further details from this guide in due course.
If you're interested in Maidstone Zoo there is a book on the subject:-
"The Story of Maidstone Zoo” (Vickie Harris; 1994).
Further to my post yesterday, I have looked through the 1940 Maidstone guide for details of other animals on show. I think my earlier post probably listed the most interesting animals in the collection. Frustratingly, the guide is often vague with the exact species not recorded.
Primates include:-
· chimpanzee
· calatrix monkey (sic) - presumably callithrix monkey
· rhesus monkey
· macaque (exact species not given but, presumably, a different species to the already mentioned rhesus monkey)
· there are also vague references to cages housing “small monkeys” and cages for “hardy varieties of monkey”
In addition to the bears, hyaenas and Chinese tiger mentioned in my earlier post, carnivores include:-
· lions “probably the finest and best conditioned collection of these animals in the United Kingdom generally numbering not less than twelve specimens and often eighteen”
· Bengal tigress
· leopard
· wolf
· dingo
· red fox
I know that, in another thread, “Pertinax” has expressed an interest in Maidstone Zoo’s axis deer, hog deer, nilgai and blackbuck but none of these are mentioned in this guide. Ungulates listed in this guide include:-
· red deer
· fallow deer
· bison, bred at London Zoo (presumably American, not European, but this is not explicitly stated)
· llamas and alpacas
· Arabian camel
· guzerat (zebu) described as the largest of the humped cattle of India
· vague reference to “hardy examples of antelope and zebra”
Primates include:-
· chimpanzee
· calatrix monkey (sic) - presumably callithrix monkey
· rhesus monkey
· macaque (exact species not given but, presumably, a different species to the already mentioned rhesus monkey)
· there are also vague references to cages housing “small monkeys” and cages for “hardy varieties of monkey”
In addition to the bears, hyaenas and Chinese tiger mentioned in my earlier post, carnivores include:-
· lions “probably the finest and best conditioned collection of these animals in the United Kingdom generally numbering not less than twelve specimens and often eighteen”
· Bengal tigress
· leopard
· wolf
· dingo
· red fox
I know that, in another thread, “Pertinax” has expressed an interest in Maidstone Zoo’s axis deer, hog deer, nilgai and blackbuck but none of these are mentioned in this guide. Ungulates listed in this guide include:-
· red deer
· fallow deer
· bison, bred at London Zoo (presumably American, not European, but this is not explicitly stated)
· llamas and alpacas
· Arabian camel
· guzerat (zebu) described as the largest of the humped cattle of India
· vague reference to “hardy examples of antelope and zebra”
yes, calatrix monkey was a variant on callithrix monkey, which in turn was an alternative name for the Chlorocebus monkeys (vervets, grivets, green monkeys, etc; at the time all treated as a single species, C. aethiops).
Thanks for the confirmation.
I had never encountered the variant "calatrax" before so just assumed it was probably a misspelling of "callithrix".
(I was aware that callithrix monkey was an alternative name for vervet monkey, grivet monkey etc. And I assume that the reference was to one of these green monkeys not a marmoset of the genus Callithrix).
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Hi Tim.
Yes, my interest in those Asian ungulate species was the prime motive in asking this but I've also become quite interested in Maidstone Zoo generally. I now see I drive almost right past it on the M20 (junction 6) going to the Aspinall Parks from the M25, so next time I might go and have a look at the site, part of which I believe is still open as a public park with some(?) remnants of zoo buildings like the Elephant House, still visible.
Thanks for listing the species the guide mentions( and equally significant, doesn't mention). I also found some old movie footage of the Zoo, it shows the two Elephants Gert and Daisy and other high profile species, Lion, Polar Bear etc- there seemed to be a single Chimpanzee and Rhesus macaque is shown also. There are also stills showing Red deer, a single plains Zebra, the zebu, goats, llamas etc.
I suspected the Asian deer/antelope species would not feature heavily in any literature/guide but a pity they hardly get mentioned at all. I wonder where they came from before Maidstone. If they had Bison from London/Whipsnade Zoo perhaps other species came from there also- rather than imported from India ? I rather doubt the book on Maidstone Zoo would be helpful on this though...
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The book I mentioned in a previous post, "The Story of Maidstone Zoo” (Vickie Harris; 1994) confirms that Maidstone Zoo had the four species that especially interested you; axis deer, hog deer, blackbuck and nilgai. However, I don’t recall any details about the source of these animals being provided. (It is many years since I read the book and, unfortunately, it has no index so it is not easy to check quickly and I’ve not had time to go through it again.)
Incidentally, this book also records that Maidstone Zoo acquired a male Pere David’s deer from Woburn in the early 1950s so there were obviously dealings with Woburn as well as the ZSL.
I suspect that Maidstone's hog deer, axis deer, nilgai and blackbuck came from either the ZSL or Woburn but honestly don't know.
The owner of Maidstone Zoo, Tyrwhitt-Drake, wrote the books “Beasts and Circuses; My Life with Animals” (1939) and “The English Circus and Fairground “(1946). Possibly, these supply information about the source of his Asian ungulates.
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Thanks for all this. I've got Parrotsandrew looking as well
as in the old Maidstone Zoo thread he mentioned that he has a copy of the book- I didn't realise you had it as well. Anyway, Tyrwhitt-Drake's own books might be a more likely source for what I'm looking for. IF these species did in fact come from other UK sources like ZSL and Woburn then it means there are even less different strains around than I thought! Re the Blackbuck, GL tells me from a reference he found that apparently Howletts received a couple of female Blackbuck from Marwell circa 1974- now I know they were from a group imported from Copenhagen(I think it was) so, providing they bred, at least the Howletts group have had at least one infusion of fresh blood. I believe that imported Marwell group later passed to Cotswold WP (they definately had about a dozen at one time), and later to West Midlands(?) where they have multiplied into a big herd,( not so sure of the latter though).