Zoo hunts woman who took elephant home

March 24, 2009 4:38 PM

A zoo is looking for a mystery woman who took one of their elephants home during WWII to protect it from German bombs.

Belfast Zoo say the woman took Sheila - then a 5ft tall elephant calf - to protect her amid fear the zoo could be hit during the 1941 Belfast Blitz.

While the zoo have grainy black and white images of the woman dubbed 'elephant angel' no-one has been able to identify her.

Bosses say Sheila the elephant was returned to the zoo after the war but died in the 1960s, otherwise they would have asked her who the woman was ... it's not likely she would have forgotten is it?

Mark Challis, Zoo Manager said: "The care provided by our mystery lady is unique to zoo history and we would like to make contact with her family and properly document this gap in our past."

In 1941 many of the animals in Belfast zoo were killed because of public safety fears. The Ministry of Public Security ordered that 33 zoo animals be killed in case they escaped from the zoo during the air raids.

These animals included 1 hyena, 6 wolves, 1 puma, 1 tiger, 1 black bear, 2 polar bears and 1 lynx.

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Belfast Zoo