ZSL London Zoo Memories of London Zoo (and whipsnade)

[James27]

A sloth bear playing with a boot (for some reason my memory sets the bear on one of the mountains, despite the fact they never had access up there).

Strange, I remember them on the mountains too, obviously wrong though
Don't know when it was but I remember seeing a sealion in a large tank in the aquarium, apparently they were testing it for leaks. I also remember seeing the elephants being trained, one of the keepers spoke to them in Hindu (?). The rhinos were also there at this time. Finally, I remember seeing the penguins in their old exhibit.
My earliest from Whipsnade? Following the elephants whilst they were on their walk and seeing a sealion pup

 

[Tim May]

I first visited London Zoo as a very small child in the mid 1950s and have been a regular visitor ever since. It’s been very interesting to read about the memories others have of London Zoo; some of mine follow, in no particular order; inevitably some will already have been mentioned by others.

Northern white rhinoceros ‘Ben’, first in the old Deer and Cattle Sheds, then in the Elephant & Rhino Pavilion

Black rhinoceros, ‘Lorna’, first in the old Antelope House, then in the Deer and Cattle Sheds

The famous gorilla ‘Guy’, first in the old Monkey House, then the Sobell Pavilions

‘Reuben’, the young mountain gorilla in the old Monkey House

Albino mona monkey housed with a red uakari monkey in a cage in the old Monkey House; these two unlikely companions appeared to get on very well

Polar bear ‘Pipaluk’ born on the Mappin Terraces.

Snow leopard in the end cage in the old Lion House (the cage that was subsequently used for lynx)

Baikal seal in small pond near the Children’s Zoo

The walrus ‘Alice’ in the elephant bathing pool, inside the Elephant & Rhinoceros Pavilion

'Josephine' the great Indian hornbill, who lived for over 50 years

The famous giant panda ‘Chi-Chi’ and the male ‘An An’ from Moscow Zoo

Common hippos next to the giraffes

 

[Pertinax]

Northern white rhinoceros ‘Ben’, first in the old Deer and Cattle Sheds, then in the Elephant & Rhino Pavilion

Albino mona monkey housed with a red uakari monkey in a cage in the old Monkey House; these two unlikely companions appeared to get on very well

Interesting how similar our memories are though I never saw 'Reuben' nor the Walrus.

I remember the white rhino pair- Ben & Bebe (named after Ben Lyon and Bebe Daniels from the radio show of the time) When Bebe died they replaced her with a 2nd female 'Mashobeni'.

The albino Mona monkey used to shade its sensitive eyes from bright light with its hand-it looked like it was saluting. There was also a single male Owl-faced monkey in that house. I also remember the noise when all the monkeys displayed in the inside house at once, a sort of 'chain reaction' reverbated down all the cages.

 

[Tim May]

Interesting how similar our memories are though I never saw 'Reuben' nor the Walrus.

Am I right in thinking that ‘Reuben’ was a genuine mountain gorilla and not an Eastern lowland?

Do you remember seeing the Indian wild ass (khur)? This form was definitely in the collection in the 1950s. I suppose I must have seen them as a very small child, but very much regret that I have no recollection of this whatsoever. This is an animal that I would dearly love to see now.

Another memory is the plaster cast of a hippopotamus calf, made by Frank Buckland, that adorned the wall of the Giraffe House before the Cotton Terraces development.

On the subject of the Cotton Terraces, what an enormous number of ungulates they housed in the early 1960s:-

Przewalski’s horse, onager, plains zebra, Grevy’s zebra, Hartmann’s mountain zebra, giraffe, anoa, Cape buffalo, yak, European bison, Arabian camel, Bactrian camel, llama, guanaco, alpaca and vicuna, all on the top level, plus a good collection of deer and antelope along the canal banks........

 

[Pertinax]

Am I right in thinking that ‘Reuben’ was a genuine mountain gorilla and not an Eastern lowland?

Do you remember seeing the Indian wild ass (khur)? I suppose I must have seen them as a very small child, but very much regret that I have no recollection of this whatsoever. This is an animal that I would dearly love to see now.

On the subject of the Cotton Terraces, what an enormous number of ungulates they housed in the early 1960s:-
... plus a good collection of deer and antelope along the canal banks........

1. Reuben was indeed a genuine Mountain Gorilla. He was found in the Virungas huddling by the body of a dead Silverback after they had somehow seperated from their group. He was named 'Reuben' after the tracker who found him. At the same time as him, London also had a baby Eastern Lowland(female?) so for a very short while (with Guy as well) they had all three 'types' on exhibit.

2. I don't remember Indian wild Ass (which I have seen in the wild though). I think as a child you notice the higher profile species only, at least initially, so they stay in the memory longterm. I still think Brumas the polar bear cub was my very earliest memory at ZSL, also not being able to see 'Guy' the Gorilla properly because there was a dirty glass/plastic screen in front of his outdoor cage which reflected very badly- it was later removed.(You can see it in the photo in the Hediger book'Man & Animal in the Zoo') Also never seeing the male Orangutans properly as they always stayed hidden under piles of straw.

3. I remember Blackbuck, Greater Kudu, PereDavid's deer, Red Deer in the 'basement' area of the Cotton terraces but there must have been others too.

4.I remember near the cattle sheds( on the other side perhaps?) was a run of enclosures with a selection of Dingoes, New Guinea Singing Dog, Jackals, Maned Wolf etc.

 

[Tim May]

1. Reuben was indeed a genuine Mountain Gorilla...

... I remember near the cattle sheds( on the other side perhaps?) was a run of enclosures with a selection of Dingoes, New Guinea Singing Dog, Jackals, Maned Wolf etc.

Thank you for confirming that ‘Reuben’ was a genuine mountain gorilla.

I am not old enough to have seen ‘Brumas’ as a cub, but this polar bear was still alive on my first visits to the zoo.

My earliest zoo memory is of the common hippos next to the giraffes; hippos are still one of my favourite species.

Yes, after the deer were moved to the Cotton Terraces, the wild dogs were moved from the old North Mammal House, to occupy the former deer enclosures in the old Deer and Cattle Sheds.

 

[OrangePerson]

London Zoo - 1960s
Not sure which of my memories are true or how many zoos or visits I've mixed up but I feel as though I remember the Snowdon aviary being relatively new and we were all impressed!

I remember feeding elephants across a sort of moat????

Chi Chi doing nothing - I was amazed to see Giant Pandas on TV recently looking quite active - in my memory Chi Chi was more like a sloth.

I think I remember a chimps tea party...

Guy the gorilla.

Forward to the early 80s
Sad, very bored gorillas in a horrible cage - I think that's why I didn't go back even though I lived right by the park. I'd been to Jersey and seen the lovely breeding group there.

People giving mints to the orangs - I've got a poor photo of two chubby looking animals and one of them has a sweet paper in its hand.

 

[Tim May]

London Zoo - 1960s

I think I remember a chimps tea party...

The chimpanzees tea parties stopped in 1972

 

[OrangePerson]

I have just one memory of Whipsnade (again I think it was there) sorry I don't know if it's too personal & not informative enough for Zoochat - I was VERY young and caused a bit of a scene. I had a toy tiger in a laying position ie back legs to the side, front legs forward. I can only think that I believed tigers legs were always like that because it can be the only explanation of me being heartbroken because "I want to see a tiger walk" eventually a keeper came (attracted by the noise) and explained that the female had just had cubs and the male was separated and he was sulking - we could see him in a sort of wooden bus shelter. I think we even got to look through a little window at the female & cubs which would have been exciting to a child whose only desire wasn't to 'see a tiger walk.'

 

[Pertinax]

I am not old enough to have seen ‘Brumas’ as a cub, but this polar bear was still alive on my first visits to the zoo.

I 'think' I do remember Brumas as a cub, I certainly visited about that time. I remember also that she died quite young, at only about nine years old.

I remember the appalling smell in the Hippo House, people would come out with handkerchiefs over their faces and a glazed expression in their eyes.

First memories of Whipsnade; the original Indian rhino pair 'Mohan' & 'Mohini', chasing each other around their paddock and in and out of the pool. I think Mohini was probably on heat though I didn't know about such things then....

Giving pennies to the Elephant on the lawn, which it then put in the keeper's pocket.

The carnivore 'dells' and Kodiak bear pit and Polar Bear enclosure.

 

[Bwassa]

Blimey Pertinax, you are showing your age there! Brumas was born in 1949, and the Hippo House was demolished in 1960 to make way for the 'new' Cotton Terraces.
My first visit to London was in the summer of 1983 (aged 10). I was really excited, as I imagined London Zoo to be this sprawling wonderland of animals and birds. I was slightly disappointed to realise it was relatively small.
I was VERY disappointed that the Mappins were closed off to the public. No bears, goats or anything, even though it showed them in the guide book. I remember getting quite upset, and Mum saying it didn't matter, because I'd seen polar bears at Chester (she never understood!).
I remember in the Reptile House, the crocodiles were hiding right under the windows, so you couldn't see them!
However, it wasn't all bad !
I saw my first Giant Panda that day. They had Pygmy Hippos in the Casson (I was obsessed with hippos as a child - if a zoo didn't have hippos, it wasn't a proper zoo!). I remember seeing Orang Utans in the Sobells, and a small pond between the Casson and penguin pool that had Cormorants in it.
I was similarly obsessed with visiting Whipsnade (they had hippos!!), but had to wait til I was 26 before I got to visit.

 

[Pertinax]

obsessed with hippos as a child - if a zoo didn't have hippos, it wasn't a proper zoo!)
I was similarly obsessed with visiting Whipsnade (they had hippos!!), but had to wait til I was 26 before I got to visit.

Its interesting how several of us as children either remember Hippos or wanted to see them. The pair at London were- I think, named Henry & Belinda, and their counterpart pair at Whipsnade were Neville & Fifi- but maybe it was the other way round and I have the pairs at the wrong locations?

However, the Hippos at Whipsnade did come 2nd on my scale of interest as they also had the Indian Rhino pair Mohan & Mohini- fantastic!

 

[Tim May]

The pair at London were- I think, named Henry & Belinda, and their counterpart pair at Whipsnade were Neville & Fifi- but maybe it was the other way round and I have the pairs at the wrong locations?

Sorry, Pertinax, you have got the London & Whipsnade hippos the wrong way round (although ‘Neville’ and ‘Fifi’ did spend a while at Whipsnade too).

The long lived pair of hippos at Whipsnade were ‘Henry’ and ‘Belinda’.
‘Henry’ arrived 10 August 1950 and died 31 August 1993.
‘Belinda’ arrived 10 August 1950 and died 20 November 1995.

The London hippos were ‘Neville’ and ‘Fifi’, who arrived at London Zoo on 8 October 1947 and 30 August 1957 respectively. Both these animals were sent to Whipsnade in October 1960, when the old Hippopotamus House was demolished as part of the Cotton Terraces development.

Sadly, in 1961, ‘Neville’ was fatally injured by ‘Fifi’ and had to be destroyed. ‘Fifi’ was sent to Belle Vue (Manchester) in 1964.

 

[Pertinax]

Sorry, Pertinax, you have got the London & Whipsnade hippos the wrong way round
‘Henry’ arrived 10 August 1950 and died 31 August 1993.
‘Belinda’ arrived 10 August 1950 and died 20 November 1995.

I thought I had, but wasn't certain.

Nor did I realise Henry & Belinda at Whipsnade were quite so long lived. Do you know the breeding record(if any) for both of these pairs?

 

[Tim May]

Nor did I realise Henry & Belinda at Whipsnade were quite so long lived. Do you know the breeding record(if any) for both of these pairs?

Although there have been individual hippos that lived longer than either ‘Henry’ or ‘Belinda’, I don’t think any two hippos, in any zoo in the world, have lived together for a longer period. (43 years).

‘Henry’ and ‘Belinda’ had sixteen offspring at Whipsnade, although they did not all survive. In addition, ‘Henry’ also fathered several offspring with his own daughter ‘Wendy’ (who was born 2 July 1967).

‘Neville’ and ‘Fifi’ did not breed together at London Zoo, but they did have a calf whilst they were at Whipsnade

 

[Pertinax]

‘Henry’ and ‘Belinda’ had sixteen offspring at Whipsnade, although they did not all survive. In addition, ‘Henry’ also fathered several offspring with his own daughter ‘Wendy’ (who was born 2 July 1967).

That must have been something of a record in itself. I think one of the offspring of Henry x Wendy went to Dublin and is/was one of their original breeding pair so is still represented.