Saturday, July 02, 2011

From Wayne Jackson


Roman Schmitt
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Posted by Buckles at 7/02/2011 10:05:00 AM

4 comments:

Chic Silber said...

Where & when was this taken please

02 July, 2011 10:48
Richard Reynolds said...

This looks like the off-exhibit barn at Circus World in Haines City, FL.

It was located behind the barn whish housed the five female Asian elephants and their calves.

I visited Roman there on September 19, 1984. He took me to a door that looked just like this. He opened it a bit wider than is shown here. Inside the room were:

- - female black rhino Kenya (shown here). She landed at Kennedy International Airport on October 24, 1974. She was on a DC-10 that had aboard a Tom Hunt animal shipment that included 75 zebras and three black rhinos one of which was Roman’s. When I was there, Roman was getting ready to send Kenya on breeding loan to Columbus zoo.

- - female African elephant Jenny (shown here). He got her from Jurgen Schulz in 1978. She was about 8 years old when I was there.

- - female Asian elephant Sally about 9 or 10 years old when I was there. He got her from Ralph Dietch, brother of Bob Dietch who used to board the RBBB animals at his place in NJ.

The rhino and two elephants seemed to get along together just great - -no aggression between them that I saw. There was nothing to separate them, and they all came to the door just like as shown here.

Also in the off-exhibit barn was the adult male Asian elephant Vance who was then in musth. He was nervous and aggressive and constantly walking around in his room and also out into the big yard. I only peeked at him through the slightly cracked door. He exuded danger.

Back at the exhibit barn where the mother and baby elephants were shown, Roman had his two zebras. The were a male Grant’s name Pasha and a female Damaraland named Zuilka. [Damaraland zebras are distinguished by having broken stripes on the legs which are often more white than striped]. Roman’s zebras were 5-years old and very aggressive, tough customers. He was no longer working them.

02 July, 2011 13:00
Anonymous said...

This was taken where Richard saw them around January '83, I made a couple trips down that winter and stayed with Gee Gee. The flight cost $99.00 each way from Buffalo, a great way to spend four days from work at the Toronto Zoo!
Happpy Days
Wayne

02 July, 2011 14:06
Ryan Easley said...

Thank you very much for sharing, Richard. Can you tell us who the mother elephants and calves were in 1984?

02 July, 2011 15:43

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