Elephants at zoo locations in United Kingdom

51 zoo locations has kept elephants in United Kingdom
There is presently 50 (15,35) living elephants in zoo locations in United Kingdom (in this database)
Region: United Kingdom is in this database included in europeOther regions
Location holdings:

51 zoo locations has kept 265 elephants in United Kingdom

(Database tables with collection of elephants further down on the page)

Elephants in zoo locations50 (15,35) living215 (47,155) dead
Sex ratio and
Management:
 Male  15 / 50 
 30%
 Female  35 / 50 
 70%
 Free contact  13 / 50 
 26%
 Protected contact  20 / 50 
 40%
 No contact  10 / 50 
 20%
 Unknown contact  7 / 50 
 14%
 wild  0 / 50  0%

Elephants arriving England from 13th to 18th century


At least eleven elephants arrived in Britain during the reigns of Queen Anne and Georges I and II; some of them died soon after arrival.

There is some confusion, as to weather the Wilkins and the Berkeley elephant is the same individual. Also, a third elephant is mentioned in this time period, which may be identical; In his Memorialls, the presbyterian minister, Robert Law, recorded the wonder of seeing a ‘bonnie’ elephant in Glasgow in January, 1681:

"Anno 1680, came an elephant to Brittain, bought by the English merchants at 2000 lib. Sterling, and was sent through the island for sight to gain money; never was there any elephant seen in Scotland before, and it was brought to Glasgow, January 1681, and was seen by many; it was then eleven years old."
Robert Law

1st of August 1683 a female elephant arrived London from from the Indies (lost to trace) and later a male elephant was offered for sale at Mr Thomas Collies Brewer in Lime-House.

















Arrival NameOwnerMiscDeadLast Location
1255unknown nameHenry III of EnglandA gift from Louis IX, the king of France1259Tower of London Menagerie
1623Don Diego?Arriving Portugal with ship 1622?Palazzo Venezia, Italy
167??Wilkins elephantMr Wilkins1681-06-17Dublin
1675Berkeleys elephantJohn Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of StrattonArrived in Whitefriars 16751676?private owner
1683Dundee elephantAbraham SeverArrived with Sever after a tour of Europe1706Abraham Sever in Dundee
1720unknown nameprivate ownerArriving 1720-07-02 in West Smithfield, London1720West Smithfield
1730unknown nameEnglish East India CompanyDied when the ship "Marlborough" exploded1730Onboard English East India Company ship in Blackwall, UK

Sources


* Menagerie: The History of Exotic Animals in England By Caroline Grigson (ISBN B018ZK17T4)
*https://drmarkjardine.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/the-first-elephant-in-scotland-1681/
*Elefanten in Zoo und Circus, EEG: Haufellner, Kurt, Schilfarth, Schweiger


Recommended Citation

Koehl, Dan, Facts about elephants in United Kingdom. Elephant Encyclopedia, (2021) available online retrieved at https://www.elephant.se/country.php?name=United Kingdom.
(archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources, among others


Internal relevant links

  • The elephant database startpage. Statistics
  • News about elephants in United Kingdom (From the sister site Elephant News)


    • NameElephant collectionTypePlaceDistrictProvinceStateRegion
    Alfred Ezra
    Kept totally 2 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births2 relocated0 deathszoo
    Belfast Zoo (Bellevue Gardens)
    Kept totally 21 elephants    		, 2 present (0,2)1 births9 relocated10 deathszooBelfast, Northern Ireland
    Belle Vue Zoological Gardens
    Kept totally 8 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated7 deathszooManchester
    Blackpool Tower Zoo
    Kept totally 0 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births0 relocated0 deathszooBlackpool, Lancashire
    Blackpool Zoo
    Kept totally 12 elephants    		, 6 present (1,5)0 births3 relocated3 deathszooBlackpool, Lancashire
    (map)
    Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park
    Kept totally 10 elephants    		, 1 present (0,1)0 births2 relocated7 deathszooBlair Drummond by Sterling
    (map)
    Bristol Zoo
    Kept totally 8 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births2 relocated6 deathszooBristol
    (map)
    Buckingham House menagerie
    Kept totally 0 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births0 relocated0 deathszooLondon
    (map)
    Chessington World of Adventures (Chessington Zoo)
    Kept totally 6 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births4 relocated2 deathszooChessington, Surrey
    Chester Zoo
    Kept totally 56 elephants    		, 6 present (2,4)22 births20 relocated30 deathszooChester
    (map)
    Cleethorpes Zoo
    Kept totally 1 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated0 deathszoo
    Colchester Zoo
    Kept totally 15 elephants    		, 4 present (1,3)7 births4 relocated7 deathszooColchester
    (map)
    Coventry Zoo
    Kept totally 1 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births0 relocated1 deathszooWhitley, Coventry
    Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park
    Kept totally 7 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births4 relocated3 deathszooChard, Somerset
    (map)
    Dreamland Safari Wild Animal Park
    Kept totally 2 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births2 relocated0 deathszooMargateKent
    Dudley Zoo
    Kept totally 19 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births12 relocated7 deathszooDudley, West Midlands
    Edinburgh Zoo
    Kept totally 2 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated1 deathszooEdinburgh
    Exeter Exchange menagerie
    Kept totally 1 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births0 relocated1 deathszooLondon
    Glasgow Zoo
    Kept totally 4 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births2 relocated2 deathszooGlasgow, Scotland
    Grimsby Zoo
    Kept totally 1 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated0 deathszooGrimsby, North East Lincolnshire
    Halifax Zoo
    Kept totally 1 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated0 deathszooHalifax
    (map)    		West Yorkshire
    Howletts Wild Animal Park
    Kept totally 48 elephants    		, 14 present (6,8)26 births18 relocated16 deathszooHythe, Kent
    (map)
    Knowsley Safari Park
    Kept totally 30 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)4 births13 relocated17 deathszooMerseyside
    Lambton Lion Park
    Kept totally 2 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated1 deathszooDurham
    Liverpool Zoo (Bostock & Wombwell's Gigantic Menagerie)
    Kept totally 1 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births0 relocated1 deathszoo
    London Zoo
    Kept totally 72 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)1 births50 relocated22 deathszooLondon
    Longleat Safari Park
    Kept totally 38 elephants    		, 1 present (0,1)1 births34 relocated3 deathszooWarminster
    (map)    		WiltshireSouth West England
    Maidstone Zoo (Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake)
    Kept totally 5 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated4 deathszooMaidstone
    Malton Flamingo Land
    Kept totally 5 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births4 relocated1 deathszooMalton, North Yorkshire
    (map)
    Noahs Ark Zoo Farm
    Kept totally 4 elephants    		, 2 present (2,0)0 births0 relocated2 deathszooBristol
    Oxford Zoo (Gosford Hill Farm)
    Kept totally 1 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births0 relocated1 deathszooKidlington
    Paignton Zoo Environmental Park
    Kept totally 4 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births0 relocated4 deathszooPaignton, Devon
    Plymouth Zoo
    Kept totally 2 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated1 deathszoo
    Port Lympne Zoo
    Kept totally 35 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)11 births17 relocated18 deathszooKent
    Sandringham Zoo
    Kept totally 1 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated0 deathszooNorfolk
    Sherwood Zoo
    Kept totally 2 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births2 relocated0 deathszooHucknall
    (map)    		Nottinghamshire
    Southampton Zoo
    Kept totally 3 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births3 relocated0 deathszooSouthampton
    Southport Zoo
    Kept totally 1 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated0 deathszooSouthportMerseyside
    Surrey Zoological Gardens
    Kept totally 0 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births0 relocated0 deathszooLondon
    (map)    		Kennington, Surrey
    The Crystal Palace
    Kept totally 1 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated0 deathszooLondon
    The Scottish Zoo And Variety Circus (Scottish Zoo and Glasgow Hippodrome)
    Kept totally 2 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births0 relocated2 deathszooGlasgow
    Tower of London Menagerie
    Kept totally 2 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated1 deathszooLondon
    (map)
    Twycross Zoo
    Kept totally 15 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)5 births10 relocated5 deathszooAtherstone CV9 3PX
    Warwick Castle menagerie
    Kept totally 1 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated0 deathszooWarwickWarwickshire, West Midlands
    Wellingborough Zoo
    Kept totally 2 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births2 relocated0 deathszoo
    Welsh Mountain Zoo
    Kept totally 4 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated3 deathszooClwyd, North Wales
    West Midland Safari Park
    Kept totally 6 elephants    		, 2 present (1,1)1 births3 relocated1 deathszooBewdley, Worcestershire
    Whipsnade Wild Animal Park
    Kept totally 37 elephants    		, 7 present (1,6)13 births11 relocated19 deathszooDunstable
    (map)    		Bedfordshire
    Windsor Safari Park
    Kept totally 8 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births8 relocated0 deathszooWindsor
    Woburn Safari Park
    Kept totally 19 elephants    		, 5 present (1,4)4 births9 relocated5 deathszooWoburn, Bedfordshire
    (map)
    Wombwells Menagerie No.1
    Kept totally 3 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births2 relocated1 deathszooGlasgow


    This document was updated: 2020-10-04 20:13:11


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