 | |
Courtesy of BostonGlobe.com |
Pat was previously mentioned in a ShowMe Elephants article from June 2011 discussing the Franklin Park Zoo's Beba.
>> "http://www.showmeelephants.com/2011/06/franklin-park-zoo-beba.html"
Previously, the only follow-up information found regarding Beba or Pat was a listing in a published census by The Billboard in 1952. They were two of four female Asian elephants listed at the Franklin Park Zoo:
- Topsy (1940, Frank Buck World Fair)
- Jennie (1942, LeCourt Animal Farm)
- Beba (Frank Buck-RKO Pictures)
- Pat (1952)
More information has been discovered regarding both animals, including a near-complete chronology of Beba's life, to be discussed in a later article. News articles shed more light on the arrival of Pat, a male calf from the East Bengal / Pakistan region.
The baby elephant arrived to Boston via a trans-Atlantic flight from London, a gift from Maharajah Ferez Khan Noon, governor of East Bengal. Prior to his arrival, he spent a two week period at London's Regents Park Zoo.
He received a "proper royal name" Nur Bahadur, meaning "Light of the Courageous" in the language of East Bengal. Arriving in Boston on St. Patrick's Day, he was given the "stable name" Pat.
No further information can be found regarding this animal. The following year, Park Commissioner Frank Kelley bought two young female Asian elephants, Minnie and Babe, from International Fertilizer & Chemical Company of New York city. A compete listing of the zoo's herd cannot be found again until 1955. Pat is not one of the five listed.
Pat is unlisted in the North American Regional Studbook for the Asian Elephant. He has been added to the database at Elephant.se.
For Further Information:
>> "$10,000 Bond Lifts Baby Elephant Into Franklin Park Zoo," Christian Science Monitor, 03/17/1952
>> "What to Know About Franklin Park Zoo's Baby Elephant," Daily Boston Globe, 03/23/1952
No comments:
Post a Comment
I eagerly anticipate associating with new individuals with an interest or history in elephants, elephant history and elephant record keeping. If you have further information regarding the animals or locations questioned in the article, please leave a comment or message me in an effort to complete their records for elephant historians.