h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

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

AWESOME!

That's incredible.

I'm going to have to re-write the piece, but that is very cool. I'll co-credit you if I may, because I had no plan to go offline and into the actual archives for this.

And good for tallslimguy.

And bad for Chsssington Zoo.

And good for you!

I bet that Oily Lulu is Oily Bella.

Now..... the hunt for Bella in the Elephant Database....

B

Or maybe not - Chessington Bella was two years younger than Lulu, and came from a "Pet Stores".

http://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=3231



The more we dig into this, the more cynical it all seems.

Very interesting though.

Ben

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

Maybe "gooing to the Circus Hoffman" is a euphamism like "going West" or "kicking the bucket".

Bella looks a lot bigger than Lulu, though Lulu would have been three by 1969 according to the Elephant Database. Ah yes. We already know that it's not a reliable source. But Bella looks a good size for Oily Lulu.

Ach my brain is numb.

Let me update the entry though it'll be more than a few days until I do.

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

I look forward to seeing this on the <./>FrontPage</.>

Congratulations!

An interesting, informative and cautionary addition to the Guide!


Geggs

Can I tidy it up? I'd like to include Deakie's findings properly. Any chance of un-picking it for a week or so? (I'm off work this week and can spend a few hours on it).

okay - I will try my best!

Right, I have faffed about with it, and put your name in the 'Editor' box, so hopefully you have control over this again.

Once you're happy, let me know and I will switch things around again - don't put it back into Peer Review please, as it will have to incubate for another week before I can touch it again. Just drop me a note and I can alter the status and editors.

Lanzababy aka h2g2 Guide Editor

Mrs Zen, you've got control of the Recommended version of the entry, A87756385.

You may see a "Return to Editors" button on it. Please don't press this button!

When you've done what you need to the entry, let either Lanza or myself know, and we'll take it back.

Indeed 2 Elephant were buried in the grounds of the Zoo.
Lulu the Blue Peter Elephant died just a short time after filming. Chessington subsequently purchased another baby elephant and it was this one they sold to Belfast zoo and THEY named her Lulu hence the confusion "what Happened to the Blue Peter Elephant"

Hi Tallslimguy here, Remember that this indecent was 40 years ago, the only thing I got wrong was the time of Lulu's death as it was a short while after the Blue Peter filming not immediately .
I spoke to Eddie O. who was with her at the time and can confirm that my original message on youtube was correct Eddie O is now over 80 years old He was my boss at the zoo at that time.
His daughter Jeannette was also present and I chat to her often on Facebook.

Hi Tallslimguy

Thank you for dropping by. And thank you for sending me off on this journey around the internet, and then ssending Deakie off into libraries.

His entry's as much about how to find out the truh of things as it's about Lulu. So thank you too for restoring some of my faith in the truth of things that people post n he internet.

Ben

oops! Spelling error!!
Should have read incident - not indecent

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.

Hi David

Thank you for your comments, which are receiving consideration. In the meantime we have removed this article, pending re-editing.

Best wishes

h2g2 Guide Editors