The Universal zoo was one of the earliest parts of the film operation that
Carl Laemmle sent out to the west coast, and one of the first pieces developed within the
Universal City he opened in 1915. According to one scholar, avoiding the oversight of east-coast animal welfare groups was one of the many motives for moving the film industry out west. The so-called Universal Oak Crest ranch zoo located at the old
Providencia Ranch began with what would today be called a
petting zoo of domestic animals (goats, sheep, a pig and horses) In May 1914, two lionesses and leopard got in a half-hour-long fight when a chute was left open between cages; one of the lionesses was severely injured. In July 1914, shaving the camels for "sanitary reasons" yielded camel hair that was sold for $350. As
Carol Weld put it in 1939, “Among the oak trees, desert scenes, and other natural beauties to be found on the far outskirts of Los Angeles was established a good-sized zoo." , Carl Laemmle's first operation) and
101 Bison. When Universal City held its grand opening at the current location (at what was then called
Lankershim) on March 15, 1915, the dedicated zoo and arena for filming were a major attraction for the thousands of invited guests. Admission to the studio tour, including the zoo, cost 25¢ in 1915. The tour included a box lunch and attracted an average of 500 visitors a day. Visiting dignitaries, such as
Henry Ford or the chairman of the
Canadian Censor Board, were frequently given tours and photo opportunities with the famous animals. Universal City in 1915 also reportedly had a stable with 500 horses, along with a studio
blacksmith and
saddlery. The studio was wild even without the addition of African lions and leopards—"
jackrabbits and
mountain lions still roamed it." During a zoo baby boom in 1917, an entertainment writer made a reference that pointed to the fraught social politics of the
nadir of American race relations era: "There is no
race suicide evidence about Universal City Zoo. The troop of youngsters there include a leopard, three lions, four huskies, seven wolves, camel,
cinnamon bear, and three goats, all under four weeks of age." , undated postcard Circa summer 1919, the index of animals on the back ranch was "one tigress, 4 lionesses, 7 lions, 4 lion cubs, 6 leopards, 2 leopard cubs, 2 pumas, 2 bears, 10 wolves, 3 newborn wolf-puppies, 12 Malamute sledge dogs, 3 weaning puppies, 1 elephant, 4 camels, 1 baby camel, 4 monkeys, 1 orangutan (the world-famous
Joe Martin), 1 hoot-owl, 1 cockatoo, 2 ducks, 40 pigeons, 24 chickens, 16 domestic dogs." At the zoo's peak in 1920, it was home to some 30 lions. The zoo also periodically housed somewhat less familiar animals such as
armadillos and
anteaters.
Harry Carey found two bear cubs on his ranch that year and took them to Curly Stecker, "knowing that they would be well-cared for at Universal City." In 1921, the zoo bought eight kangaroos. , his daughter (with lion cubs), and
Joe Martin (1920) Circa 1921, a newspaper reporter wrote that the zoo was on the Universal back ranch about down a winding road from Universal City. She described it as "surrounded by a tall whitewashed fence with everything looking about neat as a pin…laid out with white walks, a large wire-enclosed bird house being the centerpiece of the place, [which contains] everything from canary-birds to a huge elephant." The zoo also had a "big barn-like building with concrete floors" that housed an elephant and six camels. In 1921, Betsy, one of apparently multiple mountain lions at the zoo, gave birth to a litter of four kittens. Carl Laemmle's brothers-in-law
Julius and
Abe Stern had a film operation across town that produced comedy shorts. Sometimes their animals, such as the so-called Century Lions, were boarded at the zoo. In April 1921, all of the Century Comedy Zoo (aka
L-KO) animals were moved to the Universal Zoo. In the mid-1920s, Carl Laemmle personally managed the studio's response to animal cruelty allegations by the American Animal Defense League in the wake of the killing of
Charlie the Elephant. In 1926, the zoo auctioned off a number of animals, including 10 lions, two tigers, six monkeys and some "less interesting" animals to local zoos, circuses and private owners.) The zoo closed in 1930. One article in 1939 stated, "When the talkies came…the menagerie proved too expensive to keep up…it represented an investment of $600,000." Sometime before May 1930, the 26 lions were sold to a circus in
Macon, Georgia, Brownie the bear was sent to Kansas City, and
Jiggs the orangutan went to a zoo in
San Diego. and leopard (
Exhibitors Herald, 1925)|right The studio may have held onto a handful of low-maintenance animals and/or kept the zoo infrastructure intact into the early 1930s. The studio stopped offering tours in the 1930s and would not revive the practice until 1964. In February 1927, one assistant trainer at the zoo, Scotty Wonderle, shot another assistant trainer, George Emerson, as part of some long-standing personal feud. The proximate issue was whose job it was to put a mat in a tiger’s cage. Emerson survived and worked as a film-industry animal trainer for another 20 years.
Animal-care practices During the Curley Stecker era, feeding time was 8 a.m. daily except Sundays. (Sunday was a
fast day; on Monday mornings the first meal of the day was rich fare.) The camels were each given half a bale of hay a day. The lions got of meat a day, while the leopards and pumas got each. Bears received bread and vegetables, and had -deep pits filled with running water. "Eskimo dogs" were served bread, vegetables and a meat stew. Animals were given water three times a day in winter, and running water was put in all cages during the summer. == Head trainers ==