Zoo History

For any folks interested in zoo history, and are as die hard and obsessed with it as I am, I highly recommend joining Zoo History UK, formerly the Bartlett Society, founded by Cline Keeling in 1984, and now manned by Paul Murphy. Below is a link to the site, as well as the most recent received email.

Zoo History

Dear All

1) Dreamland Margate Project

The Cinema, Scenic Railway and the Gothic wall
and animal cages are now listed.

A Conservation Management Plan has been produced.
This will be refined
at a site meeting and consultation on the 24th
November 2010. The plan
is scheduled for submission early December.
Please can someone
volunteer as a contact for the project
co-ordinator. I am very busy
and live on the opposite side of England.
The contact would not have
to attend the site visit but should have
30 minutes available to read
and comment upon the planning document.

The Prince's Regeneration Trust is eager
to retain our involvement
with this fascinating project.

2) Breslau Zoo

Leszek says "I am looking for material
(old letters, photos, articles
etc.) related to Breslau Zoo ... 2015 Wroclaw
Zoo will celebrate its
150th anniversary ... we want to write and
print a commemorative
book".

He provides a couple of examples as to UK
relationships: -
a. a male Indian elephant bought at London Zoo
in 1873 known as Peter
then Theodor - Leszek has already found the
letters from Sclater to
Schlegel but not from Schlegel to Sclater
b. Mr. Hans Honigman was director of Breslau
Zoo from 1929 to 1934 but
he had to escaped as he was Jew. He then helped
Huxley at London
before becoming involved with establishing Dudley
Zoo - Leszek has
already obtained some newspaper pictures of the
gentlemen.

Can we elaborate on these examples and or provide
new leads for the
forthcoming publication.

3) Charles Penrose

Baldur asks "Would anyone know what kind
of family relationship, if
any, was between Charles Penrose, founder
of the Penrose Research
Laboratory at the Philadelphia Zoo, and
Spencer Penrose, Colorado
philanthropist and founder of the Cheyenne
Mountain Zoo. I was in
Colorado Springs recently. While walking in
the city after seeing the
zoo, I came across a statue of Spencer
Penrose, the sign of which said
that he was originally from Philadelphia,
so I find it likely that
they were related; what just remains is how".

4) Website

A quick acknowledgement of everyone's support.
Thank you. The
specification and site map have been approved
by Society members. The
chosen Google based solution has received
support from both Society
members and this wider circulation list.
So the consultant has been
contacted and site replacement project has momentum.

Regards, Paul M.