Quite a chunk of animals actually came from the (closing down) royal menagerie at the Tower of London in the zoo's very early days but that does not alter the truth you raise that London was conceived as a public collection from its beginning (rather than being connected to any royal collection).
Milestones in Zoo History
- Thread starter KCZooFan
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Quite a chunk of animals actually came from the (closing down) royal menagerie at the Tower of London in the zoo's very early days but that does not alter the truth you raise that London was conceived as a public collection from its beginning (rather than being connected to any royal collection).
Zooplantman
Well-Known Member
Well, not exactly public. Not just anyone could get in. You had to have the recommendation of a Member (as well as the admission price)
Paix
Well-Known Member
In reply to the first Nocturnal House, the Bristol Zoo Guide Book writes:
"Bristol Zoo Gardens was the first zoo in the world to pioneer the concept of exchanging night and day in order to display small nocturnal animals that otherwise could not be viewed..."
In the "Past, Present and Future" section, this passage can be found:
"The Zoo began to develop at an amazing rate with Dr. Richard Clarke's influence. Not only did he design the Aquarium, penguin pool and the sea lion pond, he was also the first in the world to suggest the idea of a nocturnal house where day became night. As a result, in 1953 Bristol Zoo opened the world's first Nocturnal House."
Does anyone else have any information on Dr. Richard Clarke by the way?
I realise this is not a "milestone" but the Bristol Zoo Guide Book also reports that Bristol Zoo Gardens had the first Squirrel Monkey born in captivity, also in 1953.
"Bristol Zoo Gardens was the first zoo in the world to pioneer the concept of exchanging night and day in order to display small nocturnal animals that otherwise could not be viewed..."
In the "Past, Present and Future" section, this passage can be found:
"The Zoo began to develop at an amazing rate with Dr. Richard Clarke's influence. Not only did he design the Aquarium, penguin pool and the sea lion pond, he was also the first in the world to suggest the idea of a nocturnal house where day became night. As a result, in 1953 Bristol Zoo opened the world's first Nocturnal House."
Does anyone else have any information on Dr. Richard Clarke by the way?
I realise this is not a "milestone" but the Bristol Zoo Guide Book also reports that Bristol Zoo Gardens had the first Squirrel Monkey born in captivity, also in 1953.
Fair point, I forgot it took a few years before the great unwashed were let in. Slightly off thread but if I remember rightly certain times (Sunday mornings?) remained "members only" for quite a long time.
Not been mentioned yet (and a little surprised by that) is the role of Gerald Durrell and JWPT (now DWPT) in rethinking the role of zoos (in-situ conservation and education) and zoo people (professional training). Not sure what date one would apply though.
In 1830, King William IV presented all the animals in the Royal Menagerie at Windsor Park to London Zoo. The animals acquired included three white-tailed gnu, two mountain zebras, two Burchell’s zebras, a donkey x Burchell’s zebra hybrid, a donkey x mountain zebra hybrid......
The following year, 1831, the King donated all the animals in the Tower Menagerie to the zoo.
Yes, the general public were not allowed into the zoo until after 2:30pm on Sundays; only Fellows of the Zoological Society (and their guests) could visit the zoo before 2:30pm on Sundays.
Restricting visiting on Sundays continued well into the 1950s.
1959 when the zoo opened. The first zoo with the stated intention of only displaying endangered species and breeding them ultimately for release back into the wild.
Hix
ROTFL! For example, given us domestic donkeys, geese and cats. And information, that most animals cannot be domesticated and can be kept only in zoos.
I understand that zoos are a bit self-contained and fashion-following world, but it is worth knowing that some latest fashon stuff is really old.
Zooplantman
Well-Known Member
Interesting point.
That animals can be domesticated strikes me as not a zoo milestone as such, but that's a matter of opinion I'm sure.
But if this early collection led to experiments and was, as such, a scientific collection, that might be a different matter.
Were there efforts by the Egyptians to domesticate other animals, but which failed? What animals? How does anyone know of such experiments? Or am I misunderstanding you?
Tiergarten Schönbrunn was founded in 1752.
Egyptians might be the first to keep large nuber of different species in captivity. Also learned some significant biological facts about them.
Animals kept for economic use, that is one can say were tried to be domesticated included antelope, ibex, giraffes, cranes, hyenas, egyptian geese, perhaps others. Especially, Egyptians kept large herds of scimitar-horned oryx, addax and gazelles with cattle.
Astonishing is training of Hamadryas Baboons to herd goats, fetch water in bucket and even perform religious gestures at prayer times. Nobody else trained an animal as a house servant and fellow religious believer.
