abandoned zoo in cape town
The Groote Schuur Zoo, also known as ‘the lost zoo’, was opened in 1930 and closed in around 1975 due to fiscal challenges faced by the Apartheid government & stricter regulations on the care of wild animals. The zoo property was bequeathed to the state upon the death of Cecil Rhodes, who owned the property and had originally established the location as his private zoo of sorts (mainly a lion house). His memorial sits on the mountainside directly behind the zoo location. Cecil Rhodes (who founded Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe) is himself a man with a very controversial legacy due to (among other things) the consequences of his ardent racism & imperialist actions.
Different areas of the estate were managed by different organising bodies, but since Rhodes had specified that the zoo was to be kept open to the public free of charge, it came to be managed by the Public Works Department. In 1930, after the lion house was torn down, and new enclosures built, this area came to be known as Groote Schuur Zoo. It would open every day at 9 and close again at 5 to the sound of a whistle. In 1975 it closed for the last time. In 1999 the area was incorporated into the Cape Peninsula National Park.
Only the lion's den remains fully intact today, while the remains of other former enclosures can be found if you look carefully.
I love and respect animals more-so than I do humans. So, the main element of reflection for me with regard to this place is the ways in which we’ve taken wild animals into captivity and treated them as our own objects of amusement. We’ve kept them in cages and enclosures much too small to provide a happy life, which is not only inhumane but torturous. I’m glad that the zoo can serve as a reminder of, hopefully, how much our treatment of wild animals has changed for the better. I visited a game reserve outside of Cape Town and saw how hard the rangers there work in providing care and conservation for what precious wildlife we have left. However, as I’ve been living in Asia for so many years, I’ve seen some horrendous living conditions for wildlife in captivity and elsewhere. We as humans, being the most powerful and intelligent of all animals on Earth, have a responsibility to look after and show compassion for the weaker living things. I believe this is usually referred to as ‘humane’ treatment, however there is all too often an unfortunate irony to that word.
This is one of the more serene & picturesque abandoned locations that I’ve documented, with the Table Mountain backdrop, lush green foliage and brilliant flowers sprouting out of the rubble of former animal cages. I always try to find some remaining beauty amongst decaying locations and with this place I didn’t have to try very hard to find it.
Read MoreDifferent areas of the estate were managed by different organising bodies, but since Rhodes had specified that the zoo was to be kept open to the public free of charge, it came to be managed by the Public Works Department. In 1930, after the lion house was torn down, and new enclosures built, this area came to be known as Groote Schuur Zoo. It would open every day at 9 and close again at 5 to the sound of a whistle. In 1975 it closed for the last time. In 1999 the area was incorporated into the Cape Peninsula National Park.
Only the lion's den remains fully intact today, while the remains of other former enclosures can be found if you look carefully.
I love and respect animals more-so than I do humans. So, the main element of reflection for me with regard to this place is the ways in which we’ve taken wild animals into captivity and treated them as our own objects of amusement. We’ve kept them in cages and enclosures much too small to provide a happy life, which is not only inhumane but torturous. I’m glad that the zoo can serve as a reminder of, hopefully, how much our treatment of wild animals has changed for the better. I visited a game reserve outside of Cape Town and saw how hard the rangers there work in providing care and conservation for what precious wildlife we have left. However, as I’ve been living in Asia for so many years, I’ve seen some horrendous living conditions for wildlife in captivity and elsewhere. We as humans, being the most powerful and intelligent of all animals on Earth, have a responsibility to look after and show compassion for the weaker living things. I believe this is usually referred to as ‘humane’ treatment, however there is all too often an unfortunate irony to that word.
This is one of the more serene & picturesque abandoned locations that I’ve documented, with the Table Mountain backdrop, lush green foliage and brilliant flowers sprouting out of the rubble of former animal cages. I always try to find some remaining beauty amongst decaying locations and with this place I didn’t have to try very hard to find it.
