100 YEARS OF THE SAN Part 3: War Years, 1937-1946 & Part 4: Growth, 1947-1956 BY KAREN E. WORLEY MANAGING EDITOR
PHOTOS BY SDZG
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PART 3: WAR YEARS, 1937-1946
y the late 1930s, the San Diego Zoo had established a reputation as an excellent facility that took great care of its animals, and Dr. Harry Wegeforth and Belle Benchley had made many contacts around the world. By working with these contacts, Zoo staff members undertook several major expeditions to purchase and trade for animals,
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including treks to Africa, South America, and Asia. These trips were long and often arduous, involving sea voyages and tricky logistics in foreign countries, but the animals that were added to the San Diego Zoo as a result made the collection one of the best in the country.
In 1936, Dr. Harry suffered a heart attack. He recovered, but he knew his health was failing. Yet he refused to let it stop him from doing what he loved, and he went on three of the Zoo expeditions. The last one was a difficult trip to Calcutta and Singapore in 1940, during which he and bird keeper Karl Koch both contracted malaria while spending a couple of months in India making shipping arrangements. Then to make matters worse, they both ended up with pneumonia during the first leg of the return trip aboard ship, and Dr. Harry was so ill that he had to return home early. Nonetheless, he had purchased and arranged for shipments of many rare animals to the San Diego Zoo. These included hippos, red pandas, 300 birds of various species, orangutans, sun bears, gibbons, Malayan tapirs, and three young elephants—Lucki, Hari, and Maya. However, Dr. Harry’s heart condition and ill health had taken its toll. In 1941, he passed away at his home on June 25, at the age of 59. A colleague commented that it was probably due to his own talents as a diagnostician and doctor that he had been able to go on as long as he did. This was a tremendous blow to the Zoo and its staff—they had lost their fearless leader. On the day of the funeral, everyone at the Zoo worked until it was time for the service, because they knew that’s what Dr. Harry would have wanted, and then arrived in their uniforms to pay their respects. During a quiet moment the next day, Belle confided to staff member Ken Stott, “I have never felt so all alone in all my life.”