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Brumas was born on 29th November 1949. Her mother was named Ivy and her father Mischa. She was the first polar bear to be successfully reared in Britain and was an immediate attraction with the public. She caused such interest that, in 1950, the Zoo's annual attendance figures reached the 3 million mark (around 1 million more than usual at that time). Although Brumas was female, the press had reported that the bear was a 'he' and the error was not corrected at the time, so the public thought that the baby was male. Brumas was so popular that newsreels, books, postcards, toys, and other souvenirs celebrated her fame. She died on 17th March 1958.

Guy came to London Zoo from the Zoo in Paris in exchange for a tiger. He arrived on 5th November 1947, Guy Fawkes Day, hence his name 'Guy'. He was just over a year old when he arrived, and was the first gorilla at London Zoo for six years. Over the years he became one of the most popular and loved animals in the history of the Zoo. While under anaesthetic for a dental operation in 1978, Guy died from a heart attack at the age of 32. Guy is commemorated by a bronze statue by William Timyn

Jenny was the first Orangutan to be shown at London Zoo. She arrived on 25th November 1837, after being purchased from a Mr Moss for £150. She was put in the specially heated Giraffe House. She wore human clothing and learned to drink tea. She soon attracted excited crowds of people. On 28th March 1838, Charles Darwin came to London Zoo to see Jenny. It was his first sighting of an ape. He described Jenny in a letter: “the keeper showed her an apple, but would not give it her, whereupon she threw herself on her back, kicked & cried, precisely like a naughty child. - She then looked very sulky & after two or three fits of pashion [sic], the keeper said, 'Jenny if you will stop bawling & be a good girl, I will give you the apple.' - She certainly understood every word of his, &, though like a child, she had great work to stop whining, she at last succeeded, & then got the apple, with which she jumped into an arm chair & began eating it, with the most contented countenance imaginable.” The experience reinforced Darwin's view that human beings were 'created from animals'. Jenny died from an illness on 28th May 1839. After Jenny's death, she was replaced by another female Orangutan who, by tradition, was also named Jenny. The second Jenny was visited by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

Jumbo was born about 1861. When still very small, he arrived at the Zoo in the Jardin des Plantes, Paris. In 1865 he was sent to London Zoo. On arrival he was in poor condition, but after being placed in the care of Matthew Scott, a former antelope keeper, he flourished. A female African elephant, Alice, arrived a few months later and the two elephants became associated in the public mind. Jumbo was trained to give rides and became a great favourite, largely because he had a very good nature. By the early 1880s Jumbo was nearly 11 feet tall. Jumbo was sold to P T Barnum who took him to the United States for exhibition in March 1882. Jumbo was killed in a railway accident in Canada in 1885.

Pipaluk, a male polar bear, was born at London Zoo on 1st December 1967. The only polar bear cub previously reared successfully at the Zoo had been Brumas - a female. The name Pipaluk (the ending rhymed with book) was chosen from a list of Innuit names. It means 'the little one'. Pipaluk's parents, who had arrived as young cubs from Moscow Zoo in 1960, were called Sam and Sally. They were named after the Zoo's bear keeper, Sam Morton and his fiancee. Pipaluk left London Zoo in 1985 when the Mappin Terraces (which housed the bears) were closed, and died at the age of 22 in a zoo in Poland