Who has the largest private zoo?

Answer 1

Hearst Zoo:
William Randolph Hearst created the largest private zoo in the world on his ranch at San Simeon. Traveling the winding ranch road to Hearst Castle guests passed through fenced fields populated with many species of exotic wild animals freely roaming. William Randolph Hearst created the largest private zoo in the world on his ranch at San Simeon.

Answer 2

The Capsis Resort Private Zoo is the largest private zoo in Greece with animals and birds from all over the world.

Answer 3

"William Randolph Hearst created the largest private zoo in the world on his ranch at San Simeon. Traveling the winding ranch road to Hearst Castle guests passed through fenced fields populated with many species of exotic wild animals freely roaming."

Answer 4

William Randolph Hearst
created the largest private zoo in the world on his ranch at San Simeon. Traveling the winding ranch road to Hearst Castle guests passed through fenced fields populated with many species of exotic wild animals freely roaming over the hillsides as though they were native to this land. It was an amazing sight. The ever-changing collection of animals was established in 1923 when American bison, Rocky Mountain elk, and European white fallow deer were acquired.


Formally named the Hearst Garden of Comparative Zoology, the zoo had its antecedents in the menageries and game parks maintained by royalty and other wealthy classes of society for thousands of years. The Hearst zoo followed an ancient model, a zoo owned by a wealthy man calculated to impress, amaze, and entertain.

The zoo did provide a rare and overpowering visual display. There were two separate zoo components. A menagerie of caged animals was located a few hundred yards north of Hearst Castle. Several fenced enclosures provided a habitat for fifty species of herbivores. In a letter to his architect Julia Morgan, Hearst stated that he wanted his guests to feel as though they were driving through an area populated by interesting and exotic animals in their natural state, not a zoo.

The field animals were indeed a memorable sight. With a herd of more than 300 animals, white fallow deer were the most numerous and prolific species. These striking white animals are of a breed that has graced European animal parks for centuries. Other exotic animal species which grazed the hillsides included: several species of African and Asian antelope, zebras, both Bactrian (two-humped) and dromedary (one-humped) camels, sambar deer from India, red deer from Europe, axis deer from Asia, llamas, kangaroos, ostriches, emus, Barbary sheep, Alaskan big horned sheep, musk oxen, and yaks. As many as four giraffes were kept in a small pen located next to the road.

more info go to
http://www.hearstcastle.org/history/zoo.asp

Additional animals were housed in menagerie cages. Hearst and his guests enjoyed visiting the menagerie to view the many strange and exotic animals. Among the many species in the menagerie at one time or another were: black bears, grizzly bears, sun bears, lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cougars, chimpanzees, orangutans, monkeys, macaws, kinkajous, coati mundis, swans, storks, a tapir, and an elephant. The animals were housed in cages of various sizes. Diet and exercise were carefully controlled and a veterinarian was on the staff during the 1930s.

The dismantling of the zoo began in 1937 after William Randolph Hearst experienced great financial difficulty and was forced to curtail his construction activities and cut other expenses at the ranch. Many animals were donated to public zoos or sold. Dispersal of the zoo animals extended over more than fifteen years and it was never entirely completed. Most of animals had been placed by 1953, two years after Mr. Hearst’s death, but many animals were permitted to range free on the ranch. In 1958 when the State was given Hearst Castle, there were Rocky Mountain elk, tahr goats, llamas, white fallow deer, zebras, Barbary sheep, and sambar deer still on the ranch. Today, few of these animals survive, but often zebra may be seen grazing in the pastures along Highway 1 near the town of San Simeon.

Answer 5

laloo prasad yadav !!!

Answer 6

After more than two decades of sterling service to the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (NZG), its executive director, Willie Labuschagne retired from the organisation at the end of October 2006.

South Africa's loss was the United Arab Emirates' gain. Willie, who holds a Master's degree in wildlife management, will continue his career in conservation by managing the private animal collection of the President of the United Arab Emirates. This collection is said to be one of the largest private collections in the world.

Willie has been a leader in conservation since he headed up the Entomology Section of the Grootfontein Research Institute in 1971. The following year he was employed at the Johannesburg Zoological Gardens and in 1977 he became the director of that zoo. In 1985, he was appointed as director of the NZG, a position he held until his retirement.

Willie has been a leader in the zoological gardens fraternity, both nationally and internationally. In 1989, the Pan African Association of Zoological Gardens, Aquaria and Botanic Gardens (PAAZAB) was established due to his visionary leadership. He served three terms as Chairman of PAAZAB.

His highest accolade to date was his election to the office of President of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), which he held from 1999 to 2001. During his tenure as WAZA President, the organisation was transformed into a dynamic body representing zoos throughout the world.

Willie represented the NZG on a number of international bodies including the steering committee of the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG), the International Species Information System's Board of Trustees (Chairman), the advisory panel of the International Zoo Yearbook, the management committee of the Mammal Research Institute, the Committee for Inter-regional Conservation Cooperation (Chairman) and the Wildlife Society of Southern Africa (Vice-Chairman).

Due to Willie's high international profile he has been requested to consult on various international projects. In 1990, he visited Cuba as an official guest of the Director of the National Zoo of Cuba. During this visit a co-operation agreement was signed between the two zoos. This agreement was signed during the period when South African had no diplomatic ties with the Cuban Government.

On the invitation of the President of Panama he visited that country and presented them with a pair of blue cranes. Willie was invited by the President of Zaire to assist in the development of the President's private zoo. He was requested by the South African Department of Foreign Affairs to submit a project proposal and management plan for the Maputo Zoo in Mozambique. He was also invited by the President of Nigeria to assist him personally with the development of the National Children's Zoo in Nigeria's capital, Abuja.

The National Zoo has relations with more than fifty countries. Sister zoo agreements have been signed with the San Diego Zoo in the United States of America, the National Zoo of Cuba, the Taronga Zoo in Australia and the Taipei Zoo in the Republic of China. Under Willie's guidance the NZG also cooperated with several countries in Africa including Cote d' Ivoire , Malawi, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique. He attended numerous international conferences where he presented papers. He was invited to address audiences in countries ranging from Taipei to Peru.

Under Willie's progressive leadership, the National Zoo was developed into one of the top ten zoos in the world and is regularly voted a tourist hotspot in Tshwane. He negotiated for some of the most enigmatic animal species in the world to be housed at the NZG. The arrival of the four koala from the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia can be listed as one of the highlights of Willie's career.

Other species on display that were negotiated by Willie include Arabian oryx from the United Arab Emirates, Sichuan takins from the San Diego Zoo, Dholes from the Moscow Zoo and a pair of Okapis from the San Diego Zoo.

But the state-of-the-art new enclosures must rate as Willie's most visible contribution to the NZG. He designed and secured funding for more than 100 projects and the upgrading of various enclosures, including the new koala house, elephant enclosure, animal hospital and research centre, penguin and fur seal enclosures, walk-through aviary, upgrading of the aquarium and reptile park, new primate enclosures, and the African waterhole camp, to name but a few.

Willie's contribution has not gone unnoticed and he has received various merit awards from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). In 1993, he received the Pre-eminent Achiever in Excellence Award from the City Council of Pretoria in recognition of Pretorians who performed exceptionally well in their chosen vocation. In 1998, he received the PAAZAB Award in recognition of outstanding services in the establishment and development of the Pan African Association of Zoological Gardens, Aquaria and Botanic Gardens (PAAZAB). In 2000, he received a certificate from the Council of Los Angeles in the United States of America for outstanding service in the field of conservation worldwide.

In 2002, he received the Senior Captain Scott Award from the South African Academy for Science and Arts. This award honours exceptional achievement in the fields of biology and science. In the same year he was also selected as the Alumni Laureate of the University of Pretoria in recognition of exceptional achievement and promotion of the interests of the University of Pretoria. In 2006, he received the Communication and Leadership Award from the Pretoria Toastmasters.

The NZG is indeed privileged to have operated under the direction of a person of Willie Labuschagne's calibre. It is with sadness that the staff, associates and partners of the NZG take leave of this highly respected stalwart and leader, but we wish him all the best in his future endeavours. {this is a club of 50 countries}