LION, LONDON.
In 1871 a hippopotamus was born in the Gardens, but lived only two days.
In 1872 a bridge was constructed over the Regent’s Park Canal, connecting the new grounds on its north bank with the southern gardens. Two hippopotami were born, one of which, however, died; the other, reared by its dam, is still alive in the Gardens.
On October 2, 1874, an explosion took place in a boat loaded with gunpowder on the canal near the Gardens, causing great damage to some of the aviaries and other buildings.
In February, 1876, the new lion house was finished, and the animals transferred to it without accident. The new building was 228 feet long, and contained fourteen dens, each of which could accommodate a pair of animals. To each den there were two inside compartments or sleeping dens. At the back of the building were day-rooms and sleeping-rooms for the keepers. The great event of the year was the arrival and deposit of the Prince of Wales’s collection from India, in charge of Mr. Clarence Bartlett, the assistant superintendent. This collection of sixty-five animals and eighty-six birds included, amongst others, five tigers, seven leopards, two bears, four Indian elephants, eight Indian antelopes, two zebus, seven deer, pigeons, partridges, francolins, pheasants, and ostriches. This great attraction raised the income of the Society in 1876 to £34,955, the admissions to the Gardens being 915,764.
In 1877 the large summer cages outside the lion house were finished and opened. The animals were able to take air and exercise in them, and the visitors had much greater facilities for seeing them.
In 1878 a young male hippopotamus was purchased for £800.
In 1881 the last of the giraffes bred in the Gardens died.
In 1882 the gayal bred (the first recorded instance in Europe). The tapirs bred for the first time in the Gardens. This year, ‘Jumbo,’ the great African elephant, was sold to Mr. Barnum, because it was considered unsafe to keep him any longer. The number of visitors was abnormally increased by the excitement caused by the Jumbo mania, and rose to the large number of 849,776, the second highest on record, having been only surpassed in 1876 (915,764), when the Prince of Wales’s Indian collection was on view.