One of the occupants of the lion house was a leopard called Peggy. Peggy came to Belle Vue as a cub. The picture above, taken by Tom Fish and generously donated by him for display here, shows Peggy in her keeper's arms in Bulawayo in 1953, in what was then Southern Rhodesia.

Peggy was in fact presented to the Hallé Orchestra and accepted by its conductor Sir John Barbirolli. She was housed at Belle Vue and her upkeep paid for by the orchestra. The picture above was taken of Peggy at Belle Vue, where she was visited by Princess Margaret and The Queen Mother.

Tom Fish, a member of the Zoological Society of Greater Manchester, says that he believes Peggy came to an unfortunate end. She was apparently shot because it was felt she was stalking the Zoo Director, Gerald Iles, (seen with Peggy in the picture left) and could become dangerous.

All the material on this web site is © David Boardman, unless otherwise stated, and may not be copied, downloaded or otherwise reproduced or retransmitted without the written permission of the webmaster.

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