Hi Everyone!! This article will share the Questions & Answers Of The Emergence Of Zoo.
The chapter ‘The Emergence Of Zoo’ is an excerpt from the foreword to The Ark’s Anniversary. In this, Gerald Durrell describes how he realized his dream of a perfect zoo. In one of my previous posts, I have also shared the Lochinvar Stanza-Wise Summary so, you can check that post as well.
Questions & Answers Of The Emergence Of Zoo
Question 1: Why was the author’s career as an animal collector short-lived?
Answer 1: As an animal collector, the author discovered that most dealers were cramming twenty creatures into a cage designed for one so, it was obvious that most of the creatures would die. If they all survived, well and good otherwise the dealers would increase the price on survivors.
The author was of not of this mentality and he could not indulge in this sort of slave traffic as others did. Therefore, he made spacious cages for the animals and gave them proper care. In this process, he lost all his money quickly and his career as an animal collector came to an end.
Question 2: ‘However, the experience proved invaluable’. Which experience is the author talking about? Why was it invaluable?
Answer 2: During the author’s short-lived career as an animal collector, he had wide schooling in keeping of animals in the tropics, their illnesses and their quirks (peculiar behavior). This taught him that maintaining zoos were not all that easy what he thought to be. So, this whole experience was invaluable to him.
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Question 3: What brought about a change in the author’s fortunes?
Answer 3: As an animal collector, the author lost all his money and became penniless. His elder brother insisted him start writing books. The author’s first book was a great hit and his subsequent books had been equally popular. This brought about a change in his fortunes.
Question 4: What was the reason behind the author’s wish to have his own zoo?
Answer 4: Since the author’s childhood days, he was fascinated by the creatures. At the young age of 2, he used to fill matchboxes and his pockets with a wide variety of smaller fauna (animals). When he was 6, he informed his mother that he intended to have a zoo of his own. Moreover, as an adult, his wish was to provide sanctuary to the animals that are threatened by extinction due to man’s activity so as to save them.
Question 5: Describe some of the creatures that were a part of the author’s zoo.
Answer 5: There were over a thousand animals and out of these, ninety percent were threatened with extinction. The zoo had a glittering array of reptiles and snakes, tortoises and chocolate-brown gorillas. There was a tapestry of birds, cranes, peasants and flamingoes. There were also tamarins, marmosets, the babirusa, cheetahs, etc.
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Questions & Answers Of The Emergence Of Zoo
Question 6: In brief, describe the bizarre happening that the author’s mother was subjected to?
Answer 6: One afternoon, taking advantage of the situation when no one was around, the two half grow Chimpanzees – Chumley and Lulu came out of their cage and reached the author’s manor house. They banged on the front door and the author’s mother after hearing this peremptory bang got puzzled and opened the door. She found these two chimpanzees on the front stairs but didn’t lose her control and invited them in. She made them sit down on a sofa and treated them to chocolates and biscuits. While they were busy feeding on those, she rang up and reported the whereabouts of the truants.
Question 7: Who was Pythagoras? Describe the author’s adventure with Pythagoras.
Answer 7: Pythagoras was an enormous, twelve feet long, beautifully reticulated python who was as thick as a rugger blue’s thigh. He was kept in a cage which was badly designed and it was difficult to clean this cage without getting the python out. Cleaning the cage was a three-man job where two would restrain Pythagoras and the third would clean the cage.
John Hartley, a young, handsome lad, who was in charge of the reptile section, showed enthusiasm and tried to clean Pythagoras’ cage all by himself. But the snake threw his coils around him and bound him in a tight grip. The author was passing the reptile house at dusk after the zoo had closed when he heard John’s shouts for help and rushed to his assistance. While he was trying to unwind the snake from John, it threw its coils around him too and soon they were inextricably linked as Siamese twins and they both started to yell for help. They were worried thinking that the staff would have left and they would have to stand there all night, bound in the coils of Pythagoras. Fortunately, their cries were heard by a member of the mammal’s staff and with his help, they were rescued and Pythagoras was restored to his rightful home.
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Question 8: What proof of the author’s sense of humour do you find in the text? Cite a few examples.
Answer 8: Gerald Durrell is best remembered for the books on his hilarious experiences as an animal collector and zookeeper. The proofs of his sense of humour from the text are:
(i) He funnily narrates the story of the two chimpanzees that reached his house and welcomed by his mother and as per his mother, these two were better-behaved than some of the people in the zoo.
(ii) He sarcastically said that when animals were taken away from his sister’s back garden, the neighbours heaved a collective sigh of relief.
(iii) When both Gerald Durrel and John Hartly were coiled together by Pythagoras then, he very humourously compared himself and John with the Siamese twins.
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Question 9: What do the author’s friends ask him? What was his reply?
Answer 9: When the author’s friends saw all the animals then, they asked the author how and why he set up the zoo. The author answered that the zoo has over a thousand animals and out of these, ninety percent were threatened with extinction primarily due to man’s activities. So, his aim was to provide a sanctuary for these creatures so as to save them.
Question 10: How did the author prepare to set up the Jersey Zoological Park? Describe the setting of the place.
Answer 10: On 14th March 1959, the Jersey Zoological Park came into being. The founding members of the zoo were some beasts which the author had brought from West Africa. He stashed them away in his sister’s back garden in Bournemouth. Les Augres Manor was a scene of frenzied activity for several months before the animals arrived. Masons and carpenters were busy laying cement and making cages. They made the cages from everything they could get their hands on and transformed the things which people discarded into animal havens and shelters and cages that were ungainly and ugly yet serviceable.
So, these were the questions & answers of The Emergence Of Zoo.