Translated: This skeleton is Betsy. Not even Jack. It is Chamba Circus Harry Malter (Heusden)
Audience favorite Betsy, who arrived at the zoo in 1855, died in the winter of 1887-88, after which she was offered at the Universities of Brussels and Ghent. Brussels was not interested because they had too many elephants and Ghent found it too expensive. The Company then decided to just keep the skull. It was later claimed that the university would have the skull Betsy: according to tradition, Betsy had a deformed jaw by eating too many cookies and univ indeed possesses a deformed elephant skull. Small detail: the skull of an African elephant and Betsy was an Indian elephant.
Why then this story? Archival research has shown that with the closure of the zoo, the university ca 1904 skull Betsy has acquired effective. That was decades in the Museum of Zoology preserved but was traded in 1985 for five other elephant skulls. Subsequent attempts to find Betsy's skull back wereunfortunately a dead end off. But! From the same archival research it has been found that along with the skull five cervical vertebrae were purchased. The only surviving material trace of Betsy is thus exhibited in the form of five cervical vertebrae in a metal cabinet in the Zoology Museum.
Translated: Cerf, Leeuwstraat, Buffalo Street, Alpaca Street: just remember the streets around the Muinkpark there that there ever was a zoo at the South Station.
The zoo closed its doors for lack of audience in 1904, and the animals were sold at public auction. It looked as if the elephant was given refuge in the circus, but to everyone's surprise, and perhaps not least that of the man himself, it was not the impresario but one Sieske Yeast Marchand made the highest bid.
Sies tried the elephant still to resell at a profit, but he was no longer off-wanted man in the circus do not pay enough? Whether he was scuffed just disgusted?
In any case: an elephant of course costs a lot in maintenance (! Food that does), and Sieske found nothing better than the beast to slaughter. Gaia would not like to have been: the Duts was strangled with a noose of steel cables!
Of the nearly two tons of dead elephant "fillets" were served at the Hotel Gambrinus in the Flanders Street, and the rest was ... turned into sossiesen. Tasty.
The above photo was sent to us by Arthur De Decker, who wonders:
This elephant was named as one source Betsie, and was therefore of the female sex, but according to another source he was Jack, which seems rather masculine.
My question: it was now or Betsy Jack was ceremonially consumed in 1904?
Betsie? Betsy? Jack? Jacob? Someone?
Gentblogt.
'ANYONE HAVE ANY THOUGHT'S OR IDEA'S? THE ONLY THING I AM SURE OF IS THAT THE ELEPHANT SKELETON IS INDEED AFRICAN, AS STATED, THE ELEPHANT IN THE PHOTOGRAPH IS FEMALE, AND IF THERE IS ANYTHING MORE FASCINATING AND INTERESTING THEN CAPTIVE ANIMAL HISTORY, I SURE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS. TO ADD TO THE MYSTERY, IF THERE WAS A JACK THIS IS MOST LIKELY HIM.'
Dieren in de stad
Wade: I was reading this article about pure-bred plains bison from Elk Island National Park : http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/national/Reintroduced%2Bpthriving%2BSaskatchewan%2Bprairie/11179933/story.html I was also watching a documentary about an orphaned baby gorilla named Shufai on PBS. I found this on the internet: Shufai: a Gorilla's Story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09RgKmjldoQ and also this: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-17460308 British vets fly out to help ailing African gorilla By the way Mary Ann phoned me and left a message. She called to thank me for a booklet about Ontario tourist destinations, which I got from the bus stop and mailed to her because it had an advertisement for Elmvale Zoo, which has white lions, and an advertisement for an illusionist in Niagara Falls who has at least one white tiger. I read in the news that one of Siegfried & Roy's white lions died at Toledo Zoo. Take care. Sincerely Paul
ReplyDeleteWade: Shufai must be in the Limbe Wildlife Center in Cameroon http://www.limbewildlife.org/ . I was just looking at their website. They have both Western Lowland and Cross River gorillas. In fact they have the only confirmed Cross River gorilla in captivity, named "Nyango". I couldn't find Shufai in the studbook. Sincerely Paul
ReplyDeleteWade: I was hoping you got to see the "60 Minutes" story about the zoo gorillas being flown from the UK to Gabon for release into the wild (I'm sure you know who is behind that !) at http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gorillas-kings-of-congo/ and also 60 Minutes "All- American"-CBS News about David Rubenstein, who amongst many other things, pays the rental fee for the National Zoo's pandas. The panda exhibit in Washington DC is named for his family and that reminds me. They have five pandas now since twin cubs were recently born there from artificial insemination. The cubs may have different fathers. There's also a TV series I have not yet seen on Vision TV titled "Our Zoo". It's about Chester Zoo. I have not had a chance to go on the computer all Summer. Too busy. I hope you are well. Sincerely Paul
ReplyDeleteWade: I found this link for "Our Zoo" on Vision TV: http://visiontv.ca/shows/our-zoo/ I have seen one episode and wasn't overly impressed. Sincerely Paul
ReplyDeleteI was watching Our Zoo on Wednesday and a man pulled up a Chester Zoo with a truck with the words "Bellevue Zoo Manchester" written on the side. He seemed like a real jerk. I wonder if that was supposed to be Gerald Iles or his father or uncle. George Mottershead wanted to sell him a pair of Himalayan black bears, but he only wanted the male. The female had been malnourished and turned out to be pregnant, producing two male cubs later to replace their father at Chester Zoo. There is also this beautiful young blond lady who is filthy rich and has all sorts of political connections. She let them use her house for a fundraiser for Chester Zoo, but declined to host it herself. Apparently she is disgraced. She had an affaire with a married engineer who was building a railway through Nairobi and the scandal almost cost her father his job. (What typical British stupidity) He was the Secretary of Kenya. She had to return home to England to "nothing". She was instrumental in getting George a meeting with the Minister of Health to save the zoo. Her nephew worked for the minister. By the way the Mottersheads live in this incredible house which looks like a Tudor royal palace, like Hampton Court. I don't know why they didn't have the fundraiser in their own house. Maybe that blond lady's father will end up sending them all sorts of exotic animals from Kenya. At this point all they seem to have are the bears, a Bactrian camel people can ride, two penguins, a pelican, and a squirrel monkey who is the little daughter's personal pet. George Mottershead is a WWI veteran and founding the zoo was his way of processing that. Did you hear that somebody caught a Guadalcanal moustached kingfisher in the Solomon Islands? Nobody had seen one anywhere since 1953! It's a really beautiful bird. Happy Halloween. Sincerely Paul
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