Carnage at the old Washington Park Zoo

Posted on July 17, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

I was doing research on something else today when I came across a Milwaukee Public Library blog post from October 2015 about a whole slew of bear deaths/killings in a mixed species/order exhibit at the old Washington Park Zoo from 1932-1935.

Here’s that MPL post if you’re interested in reading more:

 http://mpl.org/blog/now/black-bear-black-bear-why-do-you-drown

The zoo director always seemed to be conveniently out of town when the horrifying attacks occurred. Hmmmm. And I have to wonder how well his “bears will be bears” nonchalance would go over with the public today.

It’s always amazing to stumble across stories like this that bring history to life in a new way.

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About Katherine Wikoff

I am a college professor (PhD in English, concentration rhetoric) at Milwaukee School of Engineering, where I teach film and media studies, political science, digital society, digital storytelling, writing for digital media, and communication. While fragments of my teaching and scholarship interests may quite naturally meander over to my blog, this space is intended to function as a creative outlet, not as part of my professional practice. Opinions are my own, etc.
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4 Responses to Carnage at the old Washington Park Zoo

  1. Sally Cissna's avatar Sally Cissna says:
    July 17, 2018 at 9:25 pm

    Fascinating and horrific story. I’ve heard that polar bears are the least friendly of the bear family.

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  2. Pingback: The Milwaukee (Library) Lion | Katherine Wikoff

  3. Rose's avatar Rose says:
    July 25, 2018 at 12:12 pm

    Very interesting…I never heard that story. Milwaukee had a different landscape back in those
    days from what we know now.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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