The Hemmel's Pseudo-Melanistic Jaguar

kermodei said:
Some progress to share! I'd written to both the London Zoo and the Landesmuseum Hannover in regards to our jaguar, and both have since gotten back to me. The representative from the London Zoo said she's passed my inquiry on to the zoo's library team, who "might" have more information for me. As for the Landesmuseum Hannover, Christiane Schilling, the museum's curator of natural history, says that while the museum did not receive the cat's pelt, she's going to speak with her husband about the matter, as he worked at the zoo until just last year. So! Fingers crossed ;)
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That's great! Did you use email? I've never actually tried to contact a zoo before. Either way, I hope they can share some info :)
 
Newt said:
That's great! Did you use email? I've never actually tried to contact a zoo before. Either way, I hope they can share some info :)
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I usually use the 'contact' button on their website, is that the same as email, I think so as the answer, if there is one, comes back as an email. These days zoos seem better at responding to queries than they used to be.
 
Pertinax said:
I usually use the 'contact' button on their website, is that the same as email, I think so as the answer, if there is one, comes back as an email. These days zoos seem better at responding to queries than they used to be.
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Yeah, normally it provides an email or phone number, but the phone number is optional for most if I'm correct.
 
I return with another update! I received an e-mail from an archivist at the Zoological Society of London, which reaffirmed the name of our jaguar as "Johnny", and added that "he was born in the menagerie to Jerry and Fune and was sold to Chipperfield, Southampton Zoo."

Other than that, I'm still waiting on a reply from another institution in Germany that (emphasis on) might have his remains, assuming they were preserved.
 
kermodei said:
I return with another update! I received an e-mail from an archivist at the Zoological Society of London, which reaffirmed the name of our jaguar as "Johnny", and added that "he was born in the menagerie to Jerry and Fune and was sold to Chipperfield, Southampton Zoo."

Other than that, I'm still waiting on a reply from another institution in Germany that (emphasis on) might have his remains, assuming they were preserved.
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Interesting. Hence no doubt why he ended up in a German Zoo, as Chipperfields dealt in animals extensively.
 
kermodei said:
I return with another update! I received an e-mail from an archivist at the Zoological Society of London, which reaffirmed the name of our jaguar as "Johnny", and added that "he was born in the menagerie to Jerry and Fune and was sold to Chipperfield, Southampton Zoo."

Other than that, I'm still waiting on a reply from another institution in Germany that (emphasis on) might have his remains, assuming they were preserved.
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Thanks for the update, it’s good to know more of his story! Fingers crossed for an update about his remains soon.
 
Minor updates! Firstly, I reached out to Sarah, the owner of messybeast.com, over the origin of the original jaguar image, and got some information that confirmed my initial suspicion. She believes she received the image back in the mid 1990s, via a correspondent who sent newspaper and journal clippings (my initial guess was the picture was cropped from an old newspaper article).

She's been actively digitising these clippings, and sent one from the Daily Mirror that featured the photo of "Johnny" as a cub, in the hands of a zookeeper, dated November 10th, 1965. The accompanying text puts the cub's age at six weeks old, and his parents as "Juno" (mother) and "Jerry" (father), who were brought to the London zoo "from the jungles of Brazil three years ago."

Secondly, I'm expecting a response from another institution sometime after January 8th, so let's keep our fingers crossed!
 
kermodei said:
Minor updates! Firstly, I reached out to Sarah, the owner of messybeast.com, over the origin of the original jaguar image, and got some information that confirmed my initial suspicion. She believes she received the image back in the mid 1990s, via a correspondent who sent newspaper and journal clippings (my initial guess was the picture was cropped from an old newspaper article).

She's been actively digitising these clippings, and sent one from the Daily Mirror that featured the photo of "Johnny" as a cub, in the hands of a zookeeper, dated November 10th, 1965. The accompanying text puts the cub's age at six weeks old, and his parents as "Juno" (mother) and "Jerry" (father), who were brought to the London zoo "from the jungles of Brazil three years ago."

Secondly, I'm expecting a response from another institution sometime after January 8th, so let's keep our fingers crossed!
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I only saw this until just now so I already explained it in the piebald lynx forum, but once I received an accidental email response about Johnny the jaguar, and the same newspaper clipping you described, I had a feeling it would be someone here. Glad you got all the info regardless.
 
kermodei said:
.. the photo of "Johnny" as a cub, in the hands of a zookeeper, dated November 10th, 1965. The accompanying text puts the cub's age at six weeks old, and his parents as "Juno" (mother) and "Jerry" (father), who were brought to the London zoo "from the jungles of Brazil three years ago."
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According to the Zoological Society of London Annual Report for 1962, London Zoo acquired three jaguars that year, one of which was donated by H.M.S. Jaguar (a ship in the Royal Navy). A quick google search shows the crew of H.M.S. Jaguar were presented with a live jaguar on a visit to Rio de Janeiro; inevitably the jaguar ended up in London Zoo.
 
Tim May said:
According to the Zoological Society of London Annual Report for 1962, London Zoo acquired three jaguars that year, one of which was donated by H.M.S. Jaguar (a ship in the Royal Navy). A quick google search shows the crew of H.M.S. Jaguar were presented with a live jaguar on a visit to Rio de Janeiro; inevitably the jaguar ended up in London Zoo.
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One may have died or been moved elsewhere as throughout the 60's I clearly remember only a single pair of Jaguar at London, they mainly occupied one of the smaller rectangular outside cages of the Lion House, until the arrival of the black female'Azita' I mentioned above, for which I have no date.
 
Pertinax said:
One may have died or been moved elsewhere as throughout the 60's I clearly remember only a single pair of Jaguar at London, they mainly occupied one of the smaller rectangular outside cages of the Lion House, until the arrival of the black female'Azita' I mentioned above, for which I have no date.
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The ZSL Library is currently closed for refurbishment, when it reopens I'll check for details of the 1960s jaguars.
 
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