Tuesday 9 July 2013

ABC Wednesday, Z for Zoo

Quoll. By Steve Parish
Photo by Steve Parish




The zoo or zoological gardens in the ancient times 

Wikipedia says:

"The predecessor of the zoological garden is the menagerie, which has a long history from the ancient world to modern times. The oldest known zoological collection was revealed during excavations at Hierakonpolis, Egypt in 2009, of a ca. 3500 B.C. menagerie. The exotic animals included hippos, hartebeest, elephants, baboons and wildcats. Well-known collectors of animals included King Solomon of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah,and King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. By the 4th century BCE, zoos existed in most of the Greek city states; Alexander the Great is known to have sent animals that he found on his military expeditions back to Greece. The Roman emperors kept private collections of animals for study or for use in the arena, the latter faring notoriously poorly."

Medieval England

"Henry I of England kept a collection of animals at his palace in Woodstock, which reportedly included lions, leopards, and camels. The most prominent collection in medieval England was in the Tower of London, created as early as 1204 by King John I. Henry III received a wedding gift in 1235 of three leopards from Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, and in 1264, the animals were moved to the Bulwark, renamed the Lion Tower, near the main western entrance of the Tower. It was opened to the public during the reign of Elizabeth I in the 16th century."

Emoes
In Tasmania we visited the Wing's Wildlife Park, which has a collection of animals living in Australia and especially in Tasmania. Some of them I already showed in my previous entries, like: Tasmanian Devils, Wombats , Koalas, Echidnas,Quolls, but also domestic animals like goats and swans. So I want to call it a small zoo.




Tasmanian Devil
Wombat
Wombat
Koala
Echidna
With thanks to Denise Nesbitt,  who created ABC, and Roger, who took over from her. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with Z.

25 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Love all these cute critters, great shots!

Roger Owen Green said...

at the ZOOOO!
*Simon & Garfunkel

SandyCarlson said...

These animals are precious. Delightful post.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Those are the greatest animals Wil...I didn't know all that about the history of zoos and I thank you for teaching me (in such a painless and well-illustrated way)....We toured the Tower of London with a guide and all that, but I didn't learn that it once housed exotic animals. (They probably told me, but I was overwhelmed with information!)

Love all your animals -- would love to see them 'in person' (I hAve seen koalas at one of our Zoos, somewhere, probably San Francisco.)

Cloudia said...

who knew a devil could be so cute?




ALOHA from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
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anthonynorth said...

Great pics. Zoos continue to be big attractions.

Unknown said...

Cute pictures! That was like a fun trip to the zoo without leaving my house!

Leslie: said...

Great shots, except for the snake that I had to rush through. LOVE the wombat!

Leslie
abcw team

MERYL JAFFE, PhD - parent, psychologist, teacher, author... said...

It's all happening at the Zoo...for centuries!!! Great post.

A Colorful World said...

I loved reading the history of the menagerie. You always put such thought and research into your posts! The poor animals in those early days didn't have proper habitats for sure as they were on display and you have to feel so sorry for them! Loved your photos! Can't get over how cute the Tasmanian Devil and the Wombat are! I didn't make it through to Z but will try to join in again soon as we start over! All my best.

photowannabe said...

A lot of people are against the idea of zoos but if they are well maintained and the animals are cared for, I think they are great.
There are animals that I would never be able to see on my own.
Love some of those photos of animals with exotic names.

Ann said...

I enjoy all the zoo animals, in fact were headed off to the Omaha, Nebraska zoo tomorrow which is really a nice one.
Ann

Hildred said...

Very interesting to hear about those ancient collections, Wil. A great post for Z.

Carver said...

Great shots of the animals and an interesting post.

Richard Lawry said...

Some time ago I listened to a Stuff You Missed in History Podcast about the menagerie in the Tower of London.

An Arkies Musings

Jama said...

I love zoo! a must visit for me whenever I'm overseas.

Lea said...

Great zoo photos! The wombat is just the cutest!
I named my blog Lea's Menagerie because I thought when I started it that it would be about animals, but as it turns out it is more about plants!
Have a wonderful day!
Lea
Lea's Menagerie

Hazel said...

Beautiful animals. I love that red beak. What a cute cheeky wombat!

Hazel

MaR said...

Thanks for taking us to the zoo!! great shots and informative post :)

Along These Lines ... said...

Always good to make new (furry) friends.

Arija said...

What, a goat among native Australian animals??? Nice post Wil.

The Weaver of Grass said...

This made such interesting reading Wil.

Sylvia K said...

The animals are delightful and so is your post for the day, Wil!! Thank you for the smiles to begin my day!! Hoe your week is going well!

Lise said...

I love natural zoos, I find it relaxing and so educational.

Stewart M said...

I recognise some of these animals!

Nice pictures.

Cheers - Stewart M

PS: I have been in central Australia for a week, hence slow reply.