ZSL London Zoo Mountain Beavers

[Tim May]

To add to the mystery there is an inconsistency within the ZSL Annual Report for 1962 about the actual number of mountain “beavers” acquired that year.

On page 13 it records that four mountain beavers were received in 1962 whilst on page 49, of the same document, it lists that six mountain beavers were obtained.

These were the first mountain “beavers” at London Zoo; they are listed in the Annual Report as a genus new to the collection.

The 1962 Annual Report says that London Zoo received its first mountain beavers; there were four of them according to the collection report, but six according to the List of animals received. There is a photograph of one of them opposite page 16. Dr. S.E. Dicker donated one of the mountain beavers. The 1963 report says that London Zoo received another mountain beaver.

Yes, as you mentioned, the 1962 Annual Report mentions that one of the mountain beavers was donated by Dr. S. E. Dicker; frustratingly, it doesn't provide the source of the other specimens.

According to the 1963 Annual Report, Dr. Dicker also donated the mountain beaver received that year.

 

[tetrapod]

The 1962 Annual Report has a photograph of a small-scaled tree pangolin obtained by the zoo.

Don't know about the Mountain beavers but surely the pangolin was part of a West African Durrell trip?

 

[Tim May]

Don't know about the Mountain beavers but surely the pangolin was part of a West African Durrell trip?

According to the 1962 Annual Report, the small-scaled tree pangolin was donated by a J. L. Menzies.

Continuing this digression from mountain "beavers": another specimen received in 1962, and listed in the Annual Report for that year, was an albino mona monkey. This was an animal that I do remember seeing many, many times in the old Monkey House; perhaps surprisingly, it sometimes shared a cage with a red uakari monkey.

 

[Tim May]

I spent a while working my way through the London Zoo Daily Occurrences Book for 1962 looking for further details of the mountain beavers acquired by the zoo that year.

As mentioned in one of my earlier posts, confusingly, one section of the 1962 Annual Report states that four mountain beavers were acquired while another other section states six specimens were received. The Daily Occurrences Book makes it clear that there were six individuals.

All six came from Dr. S. E. Dicker of University College; five of them he merely deposited at the zoo but one he presented to the zoo (which is why he is only listed in the Annual Report as donating one mountain beaver even though all six came from him).

(A quick google search shows that Dr. Dicker was especially interested in the kidney function of this species.)

The first three mountain beavers (one male; two females) were deposited at the zoo on 20th August 1962. None of them lived long. A female died on 26th August; the male died 11th September; the other female died 23rd September.

The next mountain beaver to arrive was deposited on 1st November 1962 and returned to Dr. Dicker on 14th November. This same individual was sent back to the zoo on 13th December 1962; this time actually being presented to the zoo.

The following day, on 14th December, two more mountain beavers were deposited by Dr. Dicker. (These were returned to Dr. Dicker on 15th January 1963.)

On the 19th December 1962 the animal that was presented to the zoo on 13th December was sent to the South Mammal House (presumably for display although that is not specifically mentioned). To find more details about this specimen would need a search of the Daily Occurrences Book for 1963 which I have not yet had the opportunity to do.

 

[Tim May]

A quick google search shows that Dr. Dicker was especially interested in the kidney function of this species.

For those interested in the technical details of Dr. Dicker’s work on the mountain beaver, Aplodontia rufa, the paper:-

“Renal Function in the Primitive Mammal Aplodontia rufa with some observations on squirrels”

is available on-line.

An extract from this document (as supplied below) also provides some details of the husbandry of the mountain beavers,

Six Aplodontia were flown from America, where they had been trapped. They were received by the Zoological Society, which kindly kept them until they could be used. During their stay there two succumbed after a few days, apparently from intestinal infestation. In the laboratory a diet of cabbage, carrot and apple with water ad lib. maintained their body weight steady in the region of 1 kg. They were kept in cages, singly. The room temperature varied between 20 and 22 C. Owing to their large and sharp incisor teeth and sharp claws, handling them necessitated the use of “monkey gloves”.

 

[Tim May]

On the 19th December 1962 the animal that was presented to the zoo on 13th December was sent to the South Mammal House (presumably for display although that is not specifically mentioned). To find more details about this specimen would need a search of the Daily Occurrences Book for 1963 which I have not yet had the opportunity to do.

To conclude this brief history of London Zoo's mountain beavers, the specimen that Dr. Dicker presented to the zoo on 13th December 1962 died on 8th October 1963.