GORILL A W
ASa AS a poster poster-boy for Allied resilience against G German bombs in the Second World Wo War, 26-stone gorilla Alfred certainly cert had mass appeal. One of the f few animals to remain at Bristol Zoo througho throughout the blitz on the city’s harbour and factories, Alfred became an emblem for thousands of troops far from home. His image a adorned postcards sent back to their families by American GIs and soldiers from across th the world. The story o of Alfred, orphaned in 1928 in the Belgian Congo, is one of many in the nearly 200-year 200 history of the zoo explored i in a new book – which also reveals th the long journey our relationship with a animals has taken in that time. Wh When it first opened its doors in July 1836, the zoo was a place of ente entertainment, where casual crue cruelties were inflicted on the anima animals by children with catapults and ad adults with burning cigarettes.
Poison
Some Som were even poisoned by the public, just for fun. Dr Andy Flack has spent sp three years studying archiveschive to create a record of the zoo’s past in The Wild Within: Histories of a Landmark British Zoo. Britain’sB oldest surviving provincial z zoo, and the fifth oldest in the world, world for the generation born after Alfred’s Alfred death in 1948 Bristol is bestknown for its links with TV’s Animal Magic, and its host Johnny Morris. For more mo than 400 editions, from 1962 until 19 1983, Morris would carry out a comic dial dialogue with the animals, whom he also voiced. voic The zoo wa was created by the Bristol, Clifton and West of England Zoological Society, which sold 500 50 shares at £25 each to begin procuring exhibits. Founders included Dr Henry Riley, a surgeon who dabbled in grave robbing, and dinosaur hunter Samuel Stutchbury. Many of the animals were held by members in their own homes until the zoo was ready – including a cheetah kept “for some months” at the house of nursery owner John Miller. The zoo’s first elephant, which appeared a week after opening day, cost £250 from a merchant who transported him from Sri Lan the SS C
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