Lai Chi Kok Zoo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (March 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Lai Chi Kok Zoo (traditional Chinese: 荔園動物園; simplified Chinese: 荔园动物园; pinyin: Lìyuán Dòngwùyuán; Cantonese Yale: lai6 yun4 dung6 mat6 yun4), located on the west shore of Lai Chi Kok Bay in Kowloon, Hong Kong, was a small private zoo open between 1951 and 1993. The zoo kept a variety of wildlife such as giraffe, lion, panther, tiger, alligator, puma etc. Its star attraction was an Asian elephant Tino (or Tinnu) (天奴), which died in 1989.
After 1976, the zoo suffered from competition with the much larger Ocean Park. On 31st July 1993, the zoo was closed. This decision was hastened by the Hong Kong Government refusing import licences for new animals, but was probably mainly because of the site's redevelopment value (it has since been redeveloped for residential purposes). Most of the remaining animals were sent to Xili Lake Wild Animal Park (now called Safari Park Shenzhen) in Shenzhen. Concern has subsequently been expressed about their welfare in view of criticism of the Safari Park's standards of animal care.
|
|||||
