AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF

BRISTOL ZOO GARDENS

An illustrated historyofillustrated history

BRISTOL

ZOOGARDENS

• P U B L I S H E D B Y T H E I N D E P E N D E N T Z O O E N T H U S I A S T S S O C I E T Y •©KarynSparks

By Tim Brown • Alan Ashby • Christoph Schwitzer

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Contents

AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF BRISTOL ZOO GARDENSCopyright ©Tim Brown, Alan Ashby, Christoph Schwitzer 2011ISBN 978-0-9563831-3-6Published by the Independent Zoo Enthusiasts SocietyPO Box 4, Todmorden, Lancs OL14 6DA.www.izes.co.uk

Text by Tim Brown, Alan Ashby, Christoph SchwitzerDesign & Production by Alan AshbySub-edited by Loveday Cuming, Karyn SparksPrinted by Butler Tanner & Dennis, Caxton Road, Frome,Somerset, BA11 1NF.

Foreword byJohn Cleese 7

Origins 9

1836-1899 17

� Fêtes & Carnivals 36

1900-1925 43

1926-1939 67

� Alfred 87

1940-1959 93

� Great Apes 115

1960-1979 119

� Okapis 138

� Animal Magic 142

� White Tigers 145

1980-1999 149

� Babies 168

� The Gardens 173

2000-2011 177

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted,reproduced, recorded or transmitted in any form without the priorpermission of the authors and publisher.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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FOSSIL REMAINS suggest that there was a time

when dinosaur, lion, hippopotamus and

rhinoceros roamed Clifton Downs. By the time I

started my education at Clifton College most of

these animals had moved on, and the rest had

been rounded up and safely housed in Bristol Zoo.

That was more than fifty years ago, when

pupils at Clifton College had to pay only a

nominal entrance fee. As a result, I spent many

hours wandering round the zoo gardens, watching

the animals close up and learning about their

behaviour. This happy experience instilled in me a

lifelong interest in the natural world.

Of course, it is embarrassing to recall that in

the 1950s, the animals were often kept behind

bars in cramped cages. Nowadays, thank heavens,

zoos display animals in as natural surroundings

as possible, and the concern for their health and

wellbeing is, in my experience, deeply impressive.

Bristol Zoo has led this transformation in the way

animals are treated, and it is recognised

throughout the zoo world as having made a major

contribution to this change.

Another transformation has been the growing

awareness of the importance of conservation, and

Bristol Zoo now plays its part in this by working to

ensure that many species which would otherwise

become extinct will still be here for our great-

grandchildren to marvel at. This work is carried

on not only within the zoo gardens, but also by

supporting conservation projects for primates in

Colombia, lemurs in Madagascar, forest birds in

the Philippines and penguins in South Africa.

Nevertheless, the brutal truth is that species are

becoming extinct in the wild, and increasingly we

shall only be able to see and study them in zoos,

which will become sanctuaries.

But progress is being made in breeding

endangered species in zoos and then re-

introducing them into the wild – that is, while a

place still exists where these animals will not be

hunted down and killed.

Some years ago, Gerald Durrell, founder of

Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust (now called the

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust) and a man

with immense knowledge and love of the natural

world, wrote the following paragraph:

‘I wish all zoos in the world – particularly the

bad ones – would aspire to the heights that Bristol

has reached. The Bristol, Clifton and West of

England Zoological Society has much to be proud

of in this, its 150th anniversary.’ I have no doubt

that these words are as true today as they were

twenty-five years ago.

ForewordBy John Cleese

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9

Origins

Early 19th century watercolour of Durdham Down by John Richards.Key to Richard Forrest’s plan c.1835. A reproduction of the entire plan can be found in the inside front cover.

ristol Zoo Gardens is the world’s fifth oldest zoo still in existence.

Indeed, the first known record of the word ‘zoo’ is in connection with

Bristol, or the Clifton Zoological Gardens as it was known then,

courtesy of Lord Macaulay and the diaries he wrote around 1847. ‘Wetreated the Clifton Zoo too contemptuously and ended up with morethan six pennyworth of amusement.’

This book seeks to tell and illustrate the story of Bristol Zoo. In doing so, we

must first contemplate how and why a collection of wild and domestic animals

from around the world ended up living in this seafaring city in the first place.

Over two thousand years ago, the Persians, the Greeks and the Chinese kept

wild animals in captivity. Known as ‘gardens of intelligence’ to the Chinese or simply

‘paradises’ to the Persians, these early zoos were largely status symbols for kings

and emperors. For centuries, the custom was adopted by the reigning monarchs of

many unconnected societies: in Mexico, the Aztec emperor, Montezuma, had no

notion of Persia or Greece but he, too, kept a huge collection of animals.

In England, our kings and queens maintained living collections, principally at

the Tower of London for almost six hundred years, but also before that at

Woodstock, Oxfordshire, dating back to the reign of Henry I, and until the end of the

19th century at Windsor Great Park. Gradually some of these royal collections were

made accessible to the wealthier elements of society. At Versailles in France or the

Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria, it became possible to see the animals

belonging to Louis XVI or the Empress Maria Theresa. In 18th-century London, the

public could view the animal collection in the Tower for a payment of one and a half

pennies – or the provision of a dog or cat as food for the carnivores!

By this time, exotic animals had become worldwide commodities, and their

acquisition became possible for the landed gentry (who also largely viewed them

as status symbols) but, more importantly, to showmen and entrepreneurs, who

would tout them in indoor halls and courtyards, or exhibit them around the country

via travelling menageries. In such a way did the ordinary people of Europe come

to view the living wonders of our planet. We can therefore trace two distinct

evolutionary pathways for the modern zoo (a third might be acclimatisation

societies, which sought to domesticate exotic species but rarely considered

exhibiting them to the public in the process).

The early 18th century saw an emergent British middle class, enabled by our

position as a trading nation and educated by virtue of that wealth. It became derigueur to take an interest in cultural activities including the sciences, underpinnedby a genuine thirst for knowledge. Botanical gardens, art galleries and museums,

B

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Opposite: List of shareholders inthe first Annual Report, 1836.The original shareholders includedsuch famous Bristolian surnamesas Fry and Wills, with IsambardKingdom Brunel being perhapsthe most noteworthy today.