Coventry Zoo, Former zoological garden in Whitley, England
Description
Coventry Zoo was a wildlife park in Whitley, an area near Coventry, laid out across roughly seven acres (2.8 ha). The facility included several enclosures for different species and a geodesic dome that housed marine animals at certain times.
History
A circus family opened the park in 1966 and ran it for about a decade and a half. During the first week after opening, around eight thousand visitors came on a single day, but the park closed in 1980.
Culture
The park became a place where families from the surrounding area would spend weekend afternoons, often wandering between the enclosures and pathways for several hours. Visitors came from different parts of the Midlands to see animals that were still uncommon in local displays at the time.
Practical
The site is no longer accessible as a zoo today, but traces of the former layout can still be found in the Whitley area. Those interested in the history of the place can look for memories in local archives or among older residents of the area.
Did you know?
A fiberglass figure roughly 35 feet (10.7 m) tall once stood at the entrance, and its head disappeared after demolition only to resurface decades later in a garden. An antiques dealer later purchased the fragment and put it on display, allowing visitors to see this unusual relic today.
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