Feather Hill Zoo

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Coordinates: 34°26′12″N 119°38′07″W / 34.4366°N 119.6353°W / 34.4366; -119.6353
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Feather Hill Ranch Zoo
Feather Hill Poultry Ranch, Santa Barbara, California (Los Angeles Times, 1925)
Map
Date opened1924
Date closed1930
LocationEast Valley Road, Montecito, California
OwnerChris Holmes
Map

The Feather Hill Zoo or Feather Hill Ranch Zoo was a U.S. private animal collection in

Christian R. Holmes from 1924 to 1930. Featherhill Ranch was located on East Valley Road "astride Romero Creek."[1]
Originally a poultry operation, the ranch rapidly established a large collection of birds and animals to attract customers to the site.

History

In April 1924, Holmes began buying the parcels that became the Feather Hill Ranch as part of a plan to make money raising chickens.

White King pigeons, "several varieties of pheasants, twelve varieties of doves, and several hundred finches, canaries, and other small birds," and ostriches.[2]

The zoo was open to the public on weekends (when families could visit and also stock up on chicken for the week's meals)

bobcats, raccoons,[3] a black panther, a spotted panther,[5] camels, springboks, alligators, snakes, a Gila monster,[6] a kangaroo, a wallaby, coatis, fennec foxes, two cheetahs, "four huge lions,"[4] assorted bears (sun, cinnamon, black[4]), an elephant, and chimpanzees named Pansy and Violet.[1] Pansy was human-acculturated and would go to dinners and travel around town by motor car.[1] The orangutan was a large male called Sultan.[4]

In 1926 a newspaper reported that an elephant named Culver had been purchased from a circus because Holmes' son had requested an elephant; the elephant came as matched set with a pony named Bunny.

axis deer both had new fawns.[10] According to one account the Leo the original MGM lion retired to Feather Hill.[11] The carnivores at the zoo were fed surplus chicken from the poultry operation.[3] The zoo also had a large number of Great Danes, mastiffs, and "various kinds of dogs" that were offered for sale and/or "used to help in the recapture of escaped animals."[4]

Holmes built an artificial lake that was frequented by wildfowl and

African secretary bird, and a cassowary.[4]

In 1930, Holmes offered the collection to the city of Santa Barbara but they declined, so the animals were purchased by Herbert Fleishhacker and moved to the San Francisco Zoo.[12] William Randolph Hearst had also been interested in purchasing the collection for Hearst Castle.[13] After selling off the Feather Hill animal collection, Holmes moved to Hawaii where he established another private zoo on his private island.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-87046-083-8 – via Internet Archive
    .
  2. ^
    ISSN 0458-3035
    . Retrieved 2023-04-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^
    ISSN 0458-3035
    . Retrieved 2023-04-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^
    ISSN 0458-3035
    . Retrieved 2023-04-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. The Fresno Morning Republican
    . January 24, 1926. p. 3D. Retrieved 2023-04-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b "The KICK Column". Nebraska Daily News-Press. June 21, 1929. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-04-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Elephant's Pal Goes as Part of Father's Gift". The Independent-Record. Helena, Montana. March 4, 1926. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-04-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. The Lompoc Record
    . October 19, 1928. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-04-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "We Hear and See". Press-Courier. Oxnard, California. November 13, 1928. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-04-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "The Los Angeles Times 18 Dec 1928, page 34". Retrieved 2023-04-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ISBN 978-1-55868-742-4
    .
  12. ^ "Santa Maria Times 20 Feb 1930, page 1". Retrieved 2023-04-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Ventura County Star 13 Feb 1930, page 11". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  14. ^ "History of Coconut Island". himb.hawaii.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-19.

34°26′12″N 119°38′07″W / 34.4366°N 119.6353°W / 34.4366; -119.6353

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