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SO THE STORY GOES...

"Tampa's zoo began around 1937 as an animal shelter in Plant Park on the banks of the Hillsborough River near downtown.   It was started by city employees and originally consisted of a small collection of indigenous animals such as raccoons, alligators and an aviary with a variety of exotic birds."

The entrance to Plant Park with the University of Tampa in the background, Sept. 5, 1936.

Burgert Bros. photo from the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library digital collection.

Three women looking at an alligator from a foot bridge in Plant Park, Sept. 11, 1936. 

Burgert Bros. photo from the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library digital collection

AND THE REST OF THE STORY GOES:

"As the zoo collection at Plant Park had grown, the animals were moved during the term of Mayor Nick Nuccio to the more centrally located Lowry park in 1957 where it was maintained by Tampa's Parks Department."

BUT DID THAT REALLY HAPPEN?

THE ZOO AT SULPHUR SPRINGS

In the years when any place with a caged animal called itself a zoo, zoos abounded in Florida, with alligators being the main attraction. Gators were big business in Florida; they were on display at just about every roadside citrus stand in the state.  Not only could you see them, you could buy them too.

The "zoo" at Sulphur Springs in the 1910s to 1920s was no exception, except for the fact that C.M. Stokes had a gator show with "educated alligators" and a "complete line of alligator goods" as well as snakes.

From J. D. (Doug) Porter's blog, Nov. 7, 2019 "Good size zoo for the City of Tampa."

"Snakes and Alligators Flourish at Tampa Zoo," screamed the headline. Flourish would seem an understatement when you consider that the Sulphur Springs zoo in Tampa, Florida was reporting the birth of thirty-four diamondback rattlesnakes and the “setting” of two hundred alligator eggs—in September 1914.

Lowry Park Zoo (now ZooTampa at Lowry Park) traces its founding to 1957, but that is not the beginning of Tampa’s zoo story—not by a long shot. That is not even the beginning of the Lowry Park zoo part of the story.

Tampa’s colorful history with zoos began shortly after the turn of the twentieth century. According to that September 1914 article, zoo manager C. M. Stokes also boasted about having a “big bear”, several llamas, a deer, some guinea pigs and birds.

Stokes claims to have handled snakes for over 20 years, and that he "solved the ancient controversy" as to which snakes lay eggs or give live birth.  He's concluded that non-poisonous snakes lay eggs, while poisonous ones give live birth.

Handling snakes for over 20 years didn't make Stokes much of an expert on them, because his "solution to the ancient mystery" is incorrect and oversimplified at best.  Hopefully, he didn't use this as a guide for handling them.  Regarding birth, there are 3 types of snakes: some give birth to live young, while others lay eggs. The 3rd class of snakes develop eggs inside their bodies, but hatch them inside, retaining the shell and giving birth to live young.  There are poisonous and non-poisonous snakes that give birth to live young. 

See Which Snakes Lay Eggs, and Which Give Birth to Live Young? by Brandon Cornett.

STOKES WANTS TO MOVE HIS ZOO TO PLANT PARK

In April 1915, Stokes  asked the City’s Board of Public Works for permission to move his animals downtown to Plant Park and open a free zoo.  The Board appointed Commissioner Clarkson to visit the zoo and estimate the worth of the animals.  The result would depend largely on the report of Clarkson.

Mrs. Metcalfe, who was a promoter of educational work for children, urged the BPW to take Mr. Stokes' offer of moving his zoo to Park, for the education of school children and entertainment of visitors.  But Mr. Stokes' plan involved more than just moving his animals and starting a free zoo.  He wanted the privilege of operating a restaurant and a post card stand at the park.  Also, he apparently expected the City to buy his animals, as Commissioner Clarkson's written report of his findings stated he did not think the city was in a position to buy the animals because Mr. Stokes' valuation was high, but he did agree the exhibit would be welcomed by the public.  He also thought the variety of animals was insufficient to be worthy of the city. 

Commissioner Henry Snow agreed that Tampa should have a "creditable zoological garden" but the city could not do so this year as there was no appropriation in the current budget for this purpose.  (At this time, old City Hall built in 1890 had just been demolished, the new police headquarters had been built, and construction was starting on the new City Hall in place of the old one, all at the cost of just under $300,000.)

A new budget would be made up in June and the matter further considered.  Commissioner Henderson also favored such an attraction, and the use of a small island at the foot of Plant Ave. to be used as a public park and playground.

Apparently, enthusiasm for the zoo faded as there was no further discussion about it published from June to the end of the year.  The BPW was kept busy with other matters such as the construction of the new City Hall.

But Stokes' alligator farm at Sulphur Springs continued to thrive well into the 1920s.  The area would become Tampa's most popular tourist attraction and recreation site when Josiah Richardson built an amusement empire there.  See more about Sulphur Springs at TampaPix.

When the Great Depression hit Tampa, many of these gators lost their jobs and were forced to sacrifice their dignity and swallow their pride to take dead-end jobs around the bay area.  Some were more successful than others and managed to start a career.  Others were not so lucky.

From the Walker Evans Archive at the Metropolitan Museum of Art "125 Views of West Coast of Florida, Including: Women on Benches in Sarasota, Mangroves, Pelicans, Shuffleboard Players, Men on Street in Tampa, Sponge Diving Wharves at Tarpon Springs, Coastal Residences, Fishermen, and Miscellaneous Street Scenes" Walker Evans (American, St. Louis, Missouri 1903–1975 New Haven, Connecticut)

Learn more about Sulphur Springs and see many photos of Josiah Richardson's amusement park "Tourist Mecca" here at TampaPix.
 

THE BOOZE ZOO

In November 1925, another zoo was in the news. Looks like Mr. Pleuss may have been running quite a "Hospitality House" there.   Prohibition agents discovered a small illegal brewery with forty barrels and four vats of beer that were stored in a nearby barn.  Pleuss was arrested, arraigned, and released on bail for trial in the Feb. term of the federal court in Tampa.

Rumor was, the zoo was a great place to see pink elephants. 

In August 1925, Dr. Lowry made his bid for re-election to the Board of City Commissioners, entering the race for two available seats for five candidates.  Lowry laid out his platform...

• Finish all the incomplete public works currently in progress in the city.

• Provide electric light, water, sewerage, sanitation, fire and police protection to all the areas that had just been annexed by the city.  (Ft. Brooke, West Tampa & Ybor to name a few.)

• More bridges across the river, starting with one at Michigan Ave. into West Tampa  (Now called Columbus Drive) and opening closed streets.

• He claims that the city spent "some ten millions of dollars" in the past four years while he was city commissioner, and every dollar was well-spent.

• He favored a "white way" to Ballast Point, which is what streets brightly-lit with electric lights were then called.

• And finally, he was in favor of improving Tampa's parks "in a big way, to include golf courses and a municipal zoo.

The next day, Lowry ran an ad which included his above comments as the narrative on the left, with the list seen below positioned in one long column on the right.  It has been rearranged into three columns to make better use of space here.  He first presents the fourteen points of his previous campaign platform, then proceeds to show how every one of them, except for the last one, have been accomplished are are in progress.

MONKEYS, TROPICAL BIRDS AND DEER PLANNED FOR LOWRY PARK

[MORE COMING]

HOW AND WHEN "TAMPA CITY ZOO" AT PLANT PARK REALLY STARTED

The nucleus of what would become referred to as as the "Tampa City Zoo" or "Plant Park Zoo" "started by city employees" was started by Park Supt. Marco Penn who kept his pet bear and three gators at Plant Park in 1934.

Below, Penn's daughter, Callie Mae Penn, is seen performing an acrobatic stunt on a giant lily pad at Lowry Park.  Lowry Park was a botanical paradise in these years, but had no zoo.

In Feb. 1935, Mayor Chancey received a gift from the Mexican consul in Tampa.  The Mexican tiger, as it was later called, was left on the mayor's doorstep while he was out on a hunting trip.  The tiger was sent to a zoo located on Nebraska Ave. while Penn prepared a place for it at Plant Park.

In these years, Tampa's various garden clubs were very much involved with the upkeep and beautification of Tampa's parks.   Along with the Parks Dept., they maintained the attractive landscaping at municipal buildings such as the county courthouse downtown.

The tiger gifted to Mayor Chancey was from Rafael Ruesga, the Mexican consul in Tampa.  Visitors were already going to Plant Park to see it, and "some of them have not been any too pleased at not finding him at home.  Penn was delayed in building the tiger's home due to having to obtain the materials to build it.	The tiger moved into his new home on Apr. 17, 1934 but had yet to be named.  Penn decided it should be up to the children of Tampa to give it a name, but apparently nobody took the initiative to organize some sort of official process to do so.  Friends of Chancey had previously thought that he had captured the tiger in the Everglades.	A month after the tiger moved in, the "Tampa city zoo" which was "scattered here and there" about Plant Park, received three "Mexican ant bears" with long inquisitive noses, the purpose of which was to dig "big Mexican ants out of their beds."  These were NOT bears, and you will see later that they weren't even anteaters.
The "Mexican" or Guerrero tiger is in fact, an ocelot. a wild cat that is native to Mexico, South America and the southwestern United States.  It is a medium sized spotted cat that is part of the leopard family, and is similar in appearance to a bobcat or jaguar. It usually is found in the forests of southern Mexico.
The "Mexican ant bears" were not bears at all, but if they were anteaters, they would have been either northern or southern Tamandua, two species anteaters that live in grassland and forest of southeastern Mexico to northern South America. The mexicana tamanduas anteater much smaller than giant anteaters.  They have a prehensile tail, small eyes and ears, and a long snout. The fur is pale yellow over most of the body, with a distinctive patch of black fur over the flanks, back, and shoulders, that somewhat resembles a vest in shape. The presence of this color pattern makes it possible to distinguish this species from its southern relative, which has a more uniform color.  The tail has fur on its upper surface for about a third of its length, but is otherwise hairless. The hind feet have five toes, while the fore feet have only four. Males and females are similar in size and color, and range from 40 to 51 inches in total length, including the 16 to 27 inch tail. Adults weigh between 7 to 12 lobs. Like other anteaters, the northern tamandua is highly adapted to its unusual diet. The tongue is long, extensible, and covered in sticky saliva able to pick up ants and termites. It has unusually well developed muscles, attached to a large hyoid bone and rooted to the top of the sternum. The entire oral cavity is modified to accommodate this tongue, and is so elongated that the back of the soft palate is level with the fifth cervical vertebra near the base of the neck, rather than at the top of the pharynx as in most other mammals. The jaw muscles and mandible are reduced, and the latter is particularly fragile. Like other anteaters, the northern tamandua has no teeth.  In addition to its diet, and unlike the giant anteater, the northern tamandua is also adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. The muscles of the toes and the presence of a tough pad on the palms makes the forefeet prehensile, enabling them to grip onto projections as it climbs. The middle toe of the forefeet also bears an unusually large claw, and the toe has enough muscle and leverage to allow it to rip open wood to get at the ants within.

This article mentions two otters, three alligators, two ant eaters, a small bear and a big black bear, and the Mexican tiger.  These weren't necessarily how many of each there were in the zoo, but more likely just the ones the reporter was able to see.

TEXAS HORNED TOAD ADDED TO THE ZOO--BRIEFLY

In late May 1936, Mayor Chancey received a horned toad from Texas with an invitation to attend the Texas Centennial exposition which was to open on June 6.  The toad arrived in a small cardboard box and was sent to Marco Penn to feed.  Penn gave it to Ben T. Sanborn, a clerk at the park department headquarters, with instructions to take him home and feed him some ants.  But Sanborn's wife didn't want it there, so he tied it up in his back yard to feed on ants.  Sanborn brought him back to the park office at Plant Park, in the original box, where he was kept while a worker was building a cage for him in the zoo.

The next day, the toad was gone.  The cage was found empty and the Tribune played it up as a "Toadnaping." The cage was made without a bottom and apparently a lid which was not secured, so the toad probably hopped, knocked the lid off and escaped.
 ("Kidnapper and kidnapped were both spelled with one "p" in those years.)

The tourist center at Plant Park, which also served as the park office where the horned toad was first kept.

Sep. 1936 Burgert Bros. photo courtesy of the Tampa-Hillsborough Co. Public Library System.

THE ZOO ACQUIRES FRED P. CONE

In late June 1936, the zoo at Plant Park received a 12-foot long, 600 lb. gator which was captured by two supporters of Fred Cone for governor.  Naturally, it was to be named "Fred P. Cone" because "they are both original Floridians."  Unfortunately, a week later, Fred was dead.  The gator, that is.

This article with the above photos describes the eating habits of the park animals at the time.  It included Pat, the big bear, and the 25 lb., 3 mo. old baby bear captured in late Jun. that year,  four alligators, a lone otter (whose mother had escaped,) the Mexican tiger which apparently was not yet named, an "ant bear" (anteater,) and caged birds.  A later article would mention the tiger's name.