I thought that I had suffered about all the indignities that come with the name Sheila over the years, but I was in for a whole new surprise today! It seems that an elephant named Sheila lived in Belfast Zoo in the 1930’s, and during the war she was evacuated to a home in North Belfast to be cared for. I know, I thought it must be April 1st as well. But as the Zoo start to celebrate their anniversary, they are hoping to find the family of the woman who kindly baby sat Sheila the elephant all those years ago.
Nine lions, two tigers and a number of bears and wolves were killed on the orders of the Ministry of Public Security because of fears that if a bomb hit the site of Bellevue Zoo, they would escape and pose a threat. But baby Sheila dodged the death list and was re-housed by a woman who lived near the zoo and kept her in a back garden.
Well you have to hand it to them, its a fairly novel way of promoting the Zoo and the series of events that will be held next week to celebrate. I just hope they stick to more suitable names for their elephants in the future.
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