Bears

Below is an extract from the 1947 Belle Vue Zoo Guide








The image above is shown with the generous permission of Joseph McGarraghy

The 1847 handbook for Belle Vue Zoological Gardens indicates that among the animal collection there was one bear. Other bears were added and to begin with they were kept in the menagerie beneath the Natural History Museum until the bear pits (shown above) were constructed. In 1853 a stone-sided pit with sleeping dens and a raised wooden platform was built to house three Russian bears.

The image above is shown with the generous permission of Joseph McGarraghy




These 3 images of bears are shown with the permission of Ray Chadwick.

                               

The cage, which housed Polar Bears, was added a little later.  

The polar bear images above are shown with the permission of the Balon Family of Australia..





The polar bear images above are shown with the permission of Ray Chadwick.



Image above and below donated by Tommy Kelly

---

The bear pits were later replaced by enclosures that were somewhat more spacious. The new Bear Terrace was constructed on what had been the firework island. The small lake in front of the island was used for speedboat rides. The Bear Terrace housed a variety of bears including Polar, Brown, Sun, Sloth and Asiatic Bears.

 

Any contravention of the copyright of others is unintentional and will be corrected immediately when brought to the attention of the webmaster.