London Zoo Carrying On

Manawatu Times, Volume 66, Issue 1, 2 January 1941, Page 5

London Zoo Carrying On

The London Zoo is carrying on, in spite of bombs which have damaged buildings but, fortunately produced no casualties. Much glass has been broken by the detonation of unexploded bombs.

If a time bomb falls in the Zoo tho inhabitants cannot be evacuated; yet they must continue to be fed and looked a«fter. Luckily, the two time bombs that fell in the gardens without exploding were both small and the animals’ routine could continue. There is the obvious danger of savage animals escaping after their cages have been damaged by a bomb. Luckily, the great majority of Zoo animals are not savage and could be easily dealt with by the Zoo’s special Air Raid Precautions staff.

A crane escaped into Ivegent’s Park when it’s enclosure was damaged by a high explosive bomb, but was recaptured by the offer of food after a few days; and a zebra which was liberated by a direct hit on the zebra house was rounded up without much difficulty. Experienced keepers can manage to recapture most animals; but if a brown bear, say, or a chimpanzee, or a large antelope were to be liberated and to prove difficult;, there are rifles an<] scatter-guns which could bo brought into play as a last resort. There remain the really dangerous animals. Of these, the poisonous snakes and spiders were all destroyed within a few hours of the declaration of war, since it was felt that, if released, they might elude capture. Tho only others in this category aro the larger cats and the polar bears. All tho dangerous larger cats have been placed in the lion house, and every night aro shut up in the inner sleeping dens. These are so Situated that it would take two bombs • to release an inmate—one to break open the den and I a second to break the bars of either the outdoor or the indoor cage. The odds against such a double event are so great that its posibility can be jsafely disregarded. | The polar bears (whom the keepers almost unanimously regard as the mpst i alarming inmates of the Zoo) are each night shut in the underground tunnel behind their terrace, from which escape i would appear to be impossible.