Plymouth Zoo (Closed) Plymouth Zoo and football

Z

ZooNut23

Well-Known Member
Was listening to the Quickly Kevin 90s football podcast today and Josh Widdecombe was saying there used to be a zoo behind Plymouth's stadium so when the ball was booted out of the stadium you'd hear the trumpeting of an elephant.

Anybody remember this? If anyone went to the zoo on a match day did you see any balls land in the zoo? And did it upset the animals or was it a form of enrichment? I know during major tournaments monkey world let the chimps play football.
 
The zoo was immediately adjacent to Home Park (Plymouth Argyle). I would imagine balls kicked out of the stadium might be relatively unusual and may - or may not - have prompted the elephants to trumpet! But it makes a good story...

Josh Widdecombe would be too young to remember it so I suspect it's a tale passed down from older fans which probably grew in the telling.
 
The zoo closed in 1978 Josh wasn’t born till 1983
 
Yeah. He didn't say he himself was there so it might have been something his parents told him.

Zoos with unusual neighbours could be a theme in itself. I remember Southport Zoo being next to a Theme Park and a rollercoaster going by every 5 minutes. There's a sewage plant next to Yorkshire Wildlife Park that means walking between the rhinos and polar bear enclosure (Flocke's) an unpleasant experience when the wind is travelling in the direction of the park!
 
Krefeld zoo is located right next to Grotenburg Stadion, home of KFC Uerdingen 05. It must be interesting for the mountain anoa to hear the roar of the crowds!

Dortmund Zoo isn’t located particularly far from Westfalenstadion, but not as close as the above. I wonder if there are any other examples?
 
Aston Villa`s old offices /gymnasium, which were behind the current North Stand ,was a public aquarium in the 19th century...you could even just about make out the old name of it on the side of the building
 
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