 | | | Subject: A87736134 - Lulu the Blue Peter Elephant - or "It must be true, it's on the Internet"
Posted Jan 30, 2012 by  Deke
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21
  | | I finally found the fate of Lulu.
A piece in the Surrey Comet dated Saturday 13 June 1970, records the arrival at Chessington Zoo of ‘Bella’ a new baby elephant, which it says was to replace Lulu who died ‘a few weeks before’. It records that Lulu broke a leg while being taken to London’s Heathrow Airport to welcome the arrival of the (then) new ‘Jumbo Jet‘. Also that after a week of medical attention she had to be destroyed.
The first inaugural flight (New York to London) of the Boeing 747 was by Pan-Am in January 1970. But BOAC received its first 747 on the 22 April 1970, (wiki... yeah I know). I suppose that this might have been the flight concerned, which would make Lulu’s demise in the week following.
So it appears the Tallslimguy was partly right, insofar as her manner of demise was correct, but it was nowhere near the Blue Peter event. It also makes the Elephant Database wildly wrong and Oily Lulu either Oily Bella or Lulu from 1969. The Montreal Gazette report of her death would then be correct.
Hope this helps.
Deke
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| | | Subject: A87736134 - Lulu the Blue Peter Elephant - or "It must be true, it's on the Internet"
Posted Jan 30, 2012 by Deke
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25
| | I’ve just uploaded the Surrey Comet piece to
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63531735@N05/sets/72157629014311331/
It’s the last two items.
The piece says Bella is 14 months old and looks to me to be bigger than Lulu, I’d guess this is Oily Bella. I think that Lulu was probably barely a year old at the time of the Blue Peter appearance. It also says she was flown in from Thailand, while I would think that probably the ’Pet Shop’ was just a purchasing agent/supplier. The record on the Elephant Database for Bella seems to be consistent with the dates otherwise.
Cynical? Yes. You can only wonder why young animals were being ‘taken from the wild’ at such a tender age and shipped around the world.
Thanks for your comments, it was a pleasure trying to solve the puzzle and it’s the part of h2 I enjoy best. It’s also the things you find as you go along, like the name Bella is from the zoo’s longest serving waitress, and that Windsor safari Park fitted their elephants with ear defenders to stop them taking fright from low flying aeroplanes on the Heathrow flight path, and that Chessington zoo’s ‘sociable’ vulture, which was thought to be male, layed an egg after about twenty years, and…
Anyway, the thing is that it proves your point about not being able to rely completely on web based sources. I have found on previous projects that many of the web pages are just cut and paste of each other and it’s nearly impossible to tell which came first.
Don’t bother with the co-credit. I didn’t do much except look at a few old newspapers.
 Deke
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| | | Subject: A87736134 - Lulu the Blue Peter Elephant - or
Posted Aug 6, 2012 by Dave
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| | Much has been said on this site about the Blue Peter Elephant lulu.
Well my name is Dave and I am the "tallslimguy" that has been referred to on previous article posted here.
First I will say that to call me "attention" seeking is ludicrous.Why would I lie about such a tragic event all those years ago.
To put the record straight, the photos that I posted on Youtube from my days working at Chessington Zoo were from a period before the Lulu tradegy.
Both the Superintendent at that time Mr Eddie O. is still alive and was in the BBC studio for the filming that day and can confirm that Lulu died a few weeks later after a publicity stunt near heathrow. I spoke only today 29th April 2012 to Jeanette M. who was also at the Zoo at that time.
I believe that another baby Elephant was purchased called Bella and it was this one sold to Belfast zoo and called lulu.Hence the confusion.
I object to being called a liar and at 60 years of age feel that it is time to put the record straight.
As for my YouTube comments being on other sites such as one that sells pens of all things, well any one can copy and paste an item. I certainly had know knowledge of this until today.
Thank goodness modern Zoo's are so much better than "the good old days"
Best regards from David Tallslimguy.
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