Tom Packs Elephants

The Tom Packs Elephants were considered the best trained elephant act of its time. Trained by elephant master Mac MacDonald, they represented the epitome of class and skill throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s. Originally trained as a group of five elephants for the Tom Packs Circus, four of the animals represent part of a larger group imported together in 1948. Another was added during the training period; several years later an elephant was replaced for medical reasons. The focus here is on the Tom Packs group, but will address in some detail their original shipmates as well.

Studbook Mysteries - Seabury

From Wade Burck's "Circus No-Spin Zone:"

Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Vintage Brookfield Zoo Elephants
The photo above is from 1953, elephant unknown, at the Brookfield Childrens Zoo. It is incredible today to think that they used to keep and raise the young elephants in the Children's Zoo. Does anyone know if they actually kept the elephants at the Childrens Zoo, or did the bring them back and forth from the elephant house each morning and night. The sand/dirt walkway around the pen was most likely a path as the animals probably paced along the fence and it prevented the grass from tearing up, and becoming unsightly.
Posted by Wade G. Burck

Susan said...
Based on records I'm guessing this is Melinda, wild born in 1951 and came to Brookfield from Seabury in 1952. She died in October of '53.
Apparently from spring till fall we would keep young elephants at the Children's Zoo - they would return to the Pachyderm House during the winter months. Over the years we had several calves at the Children's Zoo - Winkie, Mame, Babe/Baby Brookfield, Cora/Noel (who lives at the CEC)... There are probably others but record keeping was practically nonexistent back then.
If you look on eBay there are usually postcards of elephants at the Children's Zoo. To the best of my knowledge we did this up until the '70s.