Kirby Misperton, The Bear Pit, Flamingo Zoo Park c.1960
Photo ref:
K73047
Photo ref:
K73047
More about this scene
Polar bears, brown bears and black bears were all kept in the same rather basic enclosure at the Flamingo Zoo Park at Kirby Misperton, between York and Malton, when this picture was taken. Today, the park is the Flamingoland Theme Park and Zoo, and attracts many thousands of visitors every year.
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50s & 60s
Favourite archive photos celebrating the 50s & 60s
A Selection of Memories from Kirby Misperton
For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our website to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was, prompted by the photographs in our archive. Here are some from Kirby Misperton
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The large house in the background to this photo was originally the village rectory and was bought by Pentland Hick, the owner and founder of the zoo, and it became his family home for several years, later to becomes offices for the zoo. The proceeds from the sale went towards building a new rectory near the war memorial.
I worked as a zoo keeper at flamingo Land in the 60's and 70's and this photo brings back memories of some of the misguided practices of the era.
Mixing bears from different back grounds was not a good idea, although all the bears where introduced as youngsters, as they matured conflicts occurred.
Eventually the polar bears moved on to there own enclosure.
Before
After