Thursday, April 19, 2012

Belgrade Zoo

5 comments:

Ryan Easley said...

What a horrible looking containment perimeter. Why is that concrete slab there in front of the moat if they put spikes on it as well?

Wade G. Burck said...

Radar,
It looks to me like the exhibit is sloped to the front. Possibly the concrete was there to keep dirt from washing into the most, once the elephant's had eroded away any type of retention root's?

The "spiked" elephant wall is something I brought up in the past. It seemed to have been more prevalent in European Zoo's, in day's of old, and almost none existent in American Zoo's? I have often wondered why?
I suppose they would be a deterrent of sort's, but some spiked enclosure's were incredibly dangerous. I can't imagine the injury that would have been caused if they were stepped on by accident.

Wade

Ryan Easley said...

Wade,
Regarding the spikes in America, there are two instances that come to the front of my mind; both were removed via my father's influence in the 1980s.

The Independence Zoo in Kansas had six inch spikes all around the small exhibit.

The St. Louis Zoo had angle-iron rails surrounding the exhibit with saw-like steel attached. Every pole had thousand of roofing nails welded to them.

My descriptions are not very clear. I will post some pictures for a better visual. Perhaps Jim Alexander can share more about the St. Louis scenario.

I agree at Belgrade the retaining wall is used to keep the exhibit in tact, but the pad with the spike protruding upward is my curiosity. Though, judging by the cow's feet, foot care was of no importance regardless.

Is this 46 year old Twiggy, who arrived to Serbia from the Netherlands in 1990?

DanKoehl said...

I agree, with Radar, that it looks like Twiggy, but I cant say.

Theres still today 21012, an elephant kept behind spikes, its Pregolia (Pregolja) at Kaliningrad Zoo, see picture at http://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=711

Jim A. said...

I recall the pipe with the nails welded on. STL also had some heavy angle iron barriers with the top cut somewhat like a saw blade. I believe they were used on the side walls of the outside exhibits to "discourage" the elephants from climbing into other yards.