You Belong in a Zoo... Trivia Quiz

Answer: Killed them

London Zoo was bombed at various times during WWII. Notably, in September 1940, high explosive bombs hit the Civet House, the Rodent House, the Zebra House, the North Gate, the gardener's office and the propagating sheds. Then, in January 1941, the Camel House was damaged, as was the aquarium. Luckily, no animals were killed in the bombings, however, a female ass and her foal, as well as a zebra, did escape the zoo.

Since this had been expected by the British government, at the beginning of the war venomous animals such as snakes and spiders were killed so they could not pose any danger to the public. Larger animals though, such as lions and tigers, were transferred to Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire for their safety.

Though killing these venomous creatures may sound heartless or ruthless, an estimated 60,000 civilians were killed in London by German bombs in WWII. Having Londoners face the added threat of escaped venomous creatures was clearly not something the government wanted.

Answer: They only understood French

Yes, the baboons - having been spoken to in French all their lives - did not understand the language their new British keepers were using. They simply sat there and literally scratched their heads. Since the UK keepers at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park at Hythe, Kent, were unable to speak French, they were forced to learn, and employ, some basic French words so the baboons would understand them.

As soon as the keepers said 'Bonjour! Déjeuner!' the baboons were apparently much happier - after all, apart from having been said 'hello' to, they knew lunch was at hand!

Answer: True

All but a few of the giant pandas found in zoos outside of China are leased to the zoos by China. Prior to 1982, China did 'gift' giant pandas but stopped giving these animals away when they became endangered. The fee China charges relevant zoos for the pandas is around $1 million for a pair, with the leases usually lasting for 10 years. (The zoo in question is typically offered a renewal option after the 10 years, since the average lifespan of the panda is about 20 years.)

There are only about 1600 of these adorable animals left in the world and about 30 zoos worldwide have them. China apparently puts the income they generate from this leasing operation towards panda conservation efforts in China.

Answer: Over 10,000

According to the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, there are over 10,000 zoos around the world, which is quite a staggering number.

Zoos have been around since approximately 1250 B.C. according to historians. Records show that in ancient Egypt, lions, birds, and giraffes were kept in captivity. For centuries zoos were really there for the pleasure of aristocracy, the very wealthy, or for visitors to see animals they would generally never set eyes on in their lifetimes.

However, as the world has become more environmentally aware, the role of many zoos has thankfully changed. In the last decades, many of the worlds best-known zoos have become accredited - meaning they must adhere to strict standards in regards to the animals they house. Apart from providing adequate food and medical care, accredited zoos reportedly help to protect endangered species, conserve wild animals, provide educational programs, restore habitats and encourage breeding programs.

Answer: Winnie-the-Pooh

Hopefully the name of the bear cub - Winnipeg - gave you the answer, which was, of course, the delightful 'Winnie-the-Pooh'.

According to the History Channel, it transpires Canadian veterinarian/soldier, Harry D. Colebourn, bought Winnipeg (often shortened to 'Winnie') as a bear cub in Canada. When Colebourn decided to join the WWI war effort, he took both himself and his beloved Winnipeg to Fort Garry Horse, a militia cavalry regiment near Salisbury, England. Here the bear became the fort's unofficial mascot. However, when Colebourn went to France to join the fighting there, he realised his bear would need a home and so he asked London Zoo to look after her.

A.A. Milne, the author of 'Winnie-the-Pooh', meanwhile had a little boy named Christopher Robin Milne (this name should be ringing some bells too for 'Winnie-the-Pooh' fans). He loved to visit London zoo and, in particular, to see Winnipeg, the bear cub. It was little Christopher's love for this cub that inspired his father to write the famous stories. (For those not familiar with the books, Christopher Robin is the owner and best friend of 'Winnie-the-Pooh'.)

Colebourn survived the war, but ended up donating Winnipeg to London Zoo as he returned to Canada in 1920 to start a veterinary practice there. You can find statues of Colebourn and Winnipeg in both Assiniboine Park Zoo in Canada and at London Zoo.

Answer: Democratic Republic of the Congo

The bonobo, (which is sometimes called a pygmy, dwarf or gracile chimpanzee) like the chimpanzee, is our closest extant relative, sharing 98.7% of their DNA with humans.

Bonobos are on the IUCN Red List as an endangered species, and it is believed that only somewhere between 10,000 and 50,000 live in the world today. All of them can be found in the humid forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is also where a great deal of chimpanzees live, though they are separated by the River Congo - chimpanzees live to the north of the river, whereas bonobos live to the south.

Bonobos sadly, are suffering from both loss of their natural habitat, and from being hunted/poached for their meat. The last great apes to be discovered and scientifically described, bonobos can be told apart from chimpanzees by their more gracile form and black faces. They can walk up to a mile on two legs.

Bonobos live in a matriarchal society, form relationships, and settle any disputes they have by having sex. Since both male and female bonobos are fully bisexual, they can be a bit embarrassing, as their sexual behaviour - which they exhibit often and in many different ways - can be a bit much. In fact, some zoos reportedly shy away from having bonobos for this reason.

Answer: Berlin

Berlin Zoological Garden (or Zoologischer Garten Berlin) was opened in 1844 and is the oldest existing zoo in Germany. The very first animals at the zoo came from from a menagerie at Pfaueninsel Island, an island in the River Havel in Berlin-Wannsee. They were donated by Frederick William IV, King of Prussia.

The zoo covers 84 acres (34 ha), includes an aquarium, and is located in Berlin's famous, and very beautiful, Tiergarten. Featuring more than 1,500 different species, the zoo and aquarium present one of the largest collection of species found anywhere in the world, and for this reason the zoo attracts around 3.5 million visitors a year and prides itself on being the most-visited zoo in Europe.

The zoo gained quite a bit of fame for having Bao Bao the giant panda and Knut the polar bear (who sadly died unexpectedly in 2011). They are also one of the few zoos to have bonobos.

Answer: Lions

Hopefully the 'main,' attraction clue helped with the answer - as in mane. So, yes, five lions did manage to escape from their enclosure at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, in 2022. At the time, several visitors were camping in the zoo grounds as part of a 'roar and snore' program put on by the zoo.

These people were woken from their slumber at 6.30am by alarms ringing loudly and staff yelling 'code one, code one, everyone get of the tents!' The visitors were then hustled through the park to a safe area. One family cited the event as 'our worst nightmare'. (Tents and lions? I think we can all commiserate!) Another said it felt a bit like 'Jurassic Park'.

It turned out that the lions - four cubs and an adult male - had scratched repeatedly at their enclosure fence before squeezing under it. They were next seen roaming near a car park.

Luckily no-one was hurt and the lions were caught within a couple of hours by zoo staff and police. After what must have felt like a nice little outing, the lions were returned safely to a holding enclosure. The zoo stated they would review all enclosures after the incident. They went on to say that since there was another perimeter fence around the whole zoo, at no time did the lions escape the zoo proper, just their enclosure.

Answer: Poland

Dr. Leszek Solski is from Wroclaw, Poland and, not surprisingly, is involved with his local zoo, where he has been employed as a senior scientific assistant and zoo historian for many years. He managed to get into the Guinness Book of Records in 2020 when he had a collection of around 6,770 zoo guidebooks. However the doctor, who believes hard copy guidebooks are the only way to go, has continued to amass these printed items and at last count, he has collected over 30,000 of them.

Dr Leszek Solski started collecting in 1966 when he was just 13 years old. Unfortunately travel from Poland was difficult for many years due to the 'iron curtain', so rather than collect the literature personally, he simply wrote to zoos all over the world asking for the items to be sent to him.

Dr Solski believes one of the rarest and most valuable items in his collection is a guidebook from Kabul Zoo in Afghanistan which was issued in 1970. He says that as far as he is aware, only two other collectors in the world have one of these.

Answer: Darjeeling Zoo

Darjeeling is a town located in the Indian state of West Bengal in the Himalayas, and this is where the Padmaja Naidu Zoo sits, at an average elevation of 7000ft (or 2,134 m) making it the highest altitude public zoo in the world. The zoo was opened in 1958 and covers 67.56-acres (27.3 ha) of land.

As one would anticipate, the zoo specializes in fauna and flora which do well in alpine conditions. They have successful breeding programs for the snow leopard, the red panda, and the endangered Himalayan wolf.

The zoo, which attracts about 300,000 visitors annually, is named in honour of Indian freedom fighter and politician, Padmaja Naidu (1900-1975).