Sandy Head Zoo

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Sandy Head Zoo
Sandy Head Zoo logo.png
Sandyheadzoo.JPG
Sandy Head Zoo Underground Station entrance, 2012
Date openedDecember 11, 1856; 167 years ago (1856-12-11)
LocationSandy Head, Hope Province, Satavia
Land area17 hectares (42 acres)
No. of animalsapproximately 2,630
Annual visitors955,391 (2019-20)
MembershipsWAZA
Websitewww.sandyheadzoo.co.sv

Sandy Head Zoo (formerly known as the Royal Satavian Zoological Gardens until 1949) is the largest zoo in Satavia and Asteria Inferior and the oldest zoo still in operation in the Asterias. Opened in 1856, the zoo has undergone several major renovations and redesigns, including a move from its original location at the foot of King Charles Mound (now in central Port Hope) to its current location at Sandy Head in Cape James in 1949. The zoo is a nonprofit institution, and is subsidised by taxpayers in both the Hope Province and the National Capital District.

The zoo houses approximately 300 different species of animal and is home to the largest single collection of rare and endangered species in the Asterias. The zoo is organised into biome and region-based zones and covers an area of 42 acres. Located some 14 miles southeast of Port Hope, it is linked to the capital by a stop on the Port Hope Underground Cape James line. The zoo is managed by the Hope Province Zoological Trust, having been purchased by the Government of the Hope Province in 2006 from the private ownership of the Goldmann family, a wealthy Estmerish banking family after the zoo faced collapse as a result of the 2005 recession.

The zoo is now involved in numerous conservation efforts both within Satavia and the Asterias, but also prominently in Bahia where many animals are facing extinction as a result of habitat loss. In 2022, the zoo announced it had entered into a partnership with the Bahian Zoological Association with the aim of promoting animal conservation within Bahia.

History

Origins

In January 1854 the Zoological Association of Estmerish Asteria was founded by four prominent Estmerish businessmen, the most notable being Abraham Goldmann. The group, renamed to the Zoological Society of Satavia by May 1855, purchased a plot of land at the foot of King Charles Mound, then on the outskirts of Port Hope (at the time known as Sandy Cove), and soon after construction began on the zoo's first exhibit. In December 1856, the zoo was opened as the Satavian Zoological Gardens by then Governor-General Sir Benedict Massy with eighteen animals of six different species, all native to Satavia: one Jaguar, two Aldabra giant tortoises, two Satavian tapirs three Geoffroy's spider monkies, four Guanacos and six lesser rheas. By 1870 the zoo had expanded to become the largest in Asteria Inferior, and in 1875 Richard XII of Estmere awarded the zoo the "Royal" prefix.

Growth and development

1890 saw the zoo's largest renovation to date, with the expansion of a dedicated Bahian region of the zoo, and saw the zoo's first Lions arrived. The zoo also began its first major breeding programme around this time, and the first elephant born in captivity in the Asterias, Ellie, was born in 1906. The zoo began research into hybridisation around this period, and the world's first recorded Liger in captivity was born in the zoo sometime around 1910. The zoo continued its liger breeding programme, even breeding the world's first and only Liliger in 1994 (the largest such programme in the world) until it was discontinued in 1996 as it was believed to serve no purpose in furthering global conservation efforts.

The years following the Great Collape proved desperately difficult for the zoo, as many Satavians were forced to cut back on unnecessary expenditure. As many zoos across Satavia collapsed, the Goldmann family looked towards the Satavian government for help to prop up the zoo; unable to pay the full costs required to keep the zoo afloat, the Goldmann's used their political influence in Morwall to secure a loan from the Estmerish government at the same time as Estmere provided the Satavian government with a bailout. The zoo was able to recover to its pre-collapse strength by 1918, and bought its first animal since before the Great Collapse in May 1918 - a Clouded leopard called George. The zoo's Euclean-inspired extensive gardens were practically destroyed in 1921 following a case of early Boxwood blight, and had to be reconstructed in the years that followed.

Three people died after the zoo's lions escaped from their enclosures on the morning of the 12th May 1925 causing the Satavian government to introduce new legislation that regulated zoos for the first time. All the lions were recaptured in the next two days, except for one, four-year-old Haki, who was never returned to the zoo. Despite a year-long national manhunt, Haki remained unlocated. There were numerous reported sightings of Haki throughout the southeast of Satavia during the next 10 years, however, Haki was not found throughout this period. On 26th February 1936, a farmer in Cape Devon, in the far north of the Hope Province, claimed to have seen a large male lion. A search in the surrounding area initially revealed nothing; however, two days later on the evening of the 28th of February, a police officer from Clericford saw the lion whilst driving between Keyborough and Macquaire. The officer shot the lion, which was then taken to Port Hope for further analysis. Despite the primitiveness of animal identification at the time, zoo officials concluded that the lion was most probably Haki based on his general appearance and estimated age. Nonetheless, sightings of Haki continued for the next ten years and his true fate has become a matter of national speculation.

Great War, recovery and entering the modern age

Daniel Goldmann, the zoo's director, feeding a Llama (c. 1938)

The zoo was relatively unaffected by the Great War, despite the destruction seen in other parts of Satavia. In fact, during this time the zoo saw higher revenues than it had seen for many years as a result of a huge influx of Nuvanian soldiers occupying Satavia. Nuvania's zoos were significantly smaller than the Royal Satavian Zoological Gardens and had far fewer species of animals. During the war, many Nuvanians would visit the zoo as part of a weekend holiday destination, particularly those visiting Nuvanian soldiers on leave in the city. Although this had largely trailed off as the war raged on and Nuvania began to lose ground on its eastern front.

By 1939, the zoo was unable to expand as the city of Port Hope had engulfed the zoo that had once been on the outskirts of the capital. By 1944, the zoo directors had decided to construct a new zoo further outside the city and purchased a 42-acre plot of land in Cape James. Construction on the new facility began in 1945, and the initial stage of the zoo construction was completed by 1948. Despite initial hopes to maintain some of the zoo in Port Hope, it soon became apparent that this would not be financially viable. Consequently, the zoo instead relocated all of the animals from Port Hope to their new grounds at Sandy Head over the course of one month. On October 1, 1949, the zoo reopened at its new facility in Sandy Head and was renamed the Sandy Head Zoo. Despite the rabidly nationalist and anti-foreign ownership stance of the new National dictatorsip, the zoo was allowed to continue with its current ownership and management structure, which was still almost exclusively Estmerish. Daniel Goldmann, the zoo's director at the time (and Abraham Goldmann's grandson), purchased the remaining stake of the Royal Satavian Zoological Association from fellow Estmerish businessmen Arthur Lockhart in 1951. It was around this time that the zoo began launching a membership programme, in which members were given exclusive tours within habitats, and in some cases even entering habitats with predatory carnivorous animals. This practice was stopped in the 1970s as it was realised to be exceedingly dangerous.

Throughout the 1960s, the zoo continued to expand and soon became the largest zoo in all of the Asterias. However, this expansion came at a cost and soon the zoo was forced to sell many of its animals and close habitats as running costs spiralled. A large portion of the zoo's animals was sent to Pietersburg Zoo in Nuvania, which soon began to collaborate with Sandy Head Zoo in the world's first internationally organised breeding programme, particularly targeting Kabuese Orangutangs: since 1970, 29 Kabuese Orangutangs have been born at Sandy Head, and an additional 14 born at Pietersburg Zoo.

1979 saw the zoo go through a major refurbishment under the watch of the zoo's new director Jack Goldmann, who took over after his father William's premature death. The refurbishment saw conventional fenced habitats replaced with more natural barriers, as well as an extensive climate control system that was regarded as state of the art at the time. The zoo also began a conservation programme targeting endangered species in Bahia at this time, a first for an Asterian zoo. Furthermore, the zoo began focussing on releasing animals into the wild when possible, particularly those of endangered species. Two male Lions, Simba and Bahati were released in eastern Rwizikuru in 1984 - Simba went on to lead a pride which still exists today - making it one of the most successful animal releases to date for West Bahian Lions since conservation efforts started.

In the early 2000s, the zoo came under increased scrutiny following the passage of the Zoological Gardens, Nature Reserve and Aquarium Licensing (Animal Cruelty & Standards) Act, 2001 as the zoo was found to be in contravention of the new animal cruelty legislation. The ensuing report and inquiry into the zoo's standards and practices lead to the zoo temporarily losing accreditation, before it was restored three months later after the zoo had updated its guidelines and had conformed with the legislation. In 2004, the zoo invested heavily in a state-of-the-art new Bahian zone, that included an expansive Lion habitat. However, the 2005 financial crash and subsequent recession saw the zoo lose a significant amount of money which forced the Goldmann family to re-evaluate the zoo's profitability. In early 2006, Zoo director Arthur Goldmann informed the zoo's governing board that Goldmann & Co were no longer willing to fund the zoo. The zoo faced collapse and entered into talks with the Satavian government in an attempt to prevent the zoo's collapse. Then-Prime Minister, Edward Norton, was reluctant to fund the zoo's continued existence. On 7 May 2006, Norton told the House of Representatives that the Government would not purchase the zoo from the Goldmann family. Three days later, on 10 May, Arthur Goldmann confirmed to the press that they had not found any interested parties and that the zoo would "be forced to close within the month without a further cash injection". Unwilling to see the zoo fail, and coming under increasing pressure from the Satavian press who were in favour of a Government-backed bailout, the Government of the Hope Province entered talks with the Goldmann family on 15 May. On 27 May, Hope Province Premier Freddie Hansen confirmed that the Hope Province Government had reached an agreement with Goldmann & Co to purchase the zoo for G300 million (approximately €36 million), an estimated 60-65% below its true value. On 4 May, Arthur Goldmann resigned from the Board of Governors and was replaced by the former Director of Morwall Zoo, Peter Dale-Jones.

Since 2006, the zoo has seen significant growth and has targeted conservation efforts as an increasing priority, in addition to increasing awareness about climate change and habitat loss.

Governance

Exhibits

Sandy Head Zoo is split into several different exhibits, which are both biome or region based, and include outdoor and indoor exhibits and habitats.

Big Cats

The Big Cats section of the zoo was completed in its current form in 1995, and houses several variety of the genus Pathera. The section is one of the largest in the zoo, and is home to the largest collection of Big Cats held in captivity in Asteria Inferior. Featured animals include:

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