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In 1955, the Zoo received a marvelous Christmas gift: a baby girl orangutan, born to mother Batavia and father Ahkup on December 25. It seemed only fitting to name her Noell. First-time mother Batavia didn't know how to take care of the little one, however, so Noell was taken to the Zoo's nursery to be hand raised. She actually had another home away from home, as well: when the nursery caregiver came down with the flu, Noell spent some time at the home of Zoo director Dr. Charlie Schroeder, under the watchful care of Charlie's wife, Margaret. Like her tiny house guest, Margaret also had red hair, and Charlie had a favorite story to tell about their primate babysitting days. One day when Noell was at the house, the mailman, who was friendly with the Schroeders, came by with their mail and stopped to chat. He glanced at the crib in the room, and his eyes widened when he saw Noell. He turned to Charlie, and said rather dryly,
In addition to koalas, the San Diego Zoo was honored to receive another Australian species that had rarely been seen outside of its native land: the Tasmanian devil. Taronga Zoo director and friend of Belle Benchley's Sir Edward Hallstrom was once again instrumental in obtaining permission from the Australian government for San Diego to obtain a pair of these fascinating marsupials.
Tim Allen, the Zoo's first full-time horticulturist, had already had a full career when he started at the Zoo in 1955. He had worked at the San Diego County Department of Agriculture and had just taken early retirement when Ralph Virden, Zoo superintendent of buildings and grounds, called and asked if he'd like to come work for the Zoo. At first Tim said no; but when Ralph called a second time, he said,
In 1955, the Zoological Society of San Diego board of trustees voted to change the organization's logo. The reason was an unfortunate one: the Society's original logo had featured the California grizzly bear, but by 1955, grizzly bears were extinct in California. The board decided to change the symbol to another West Coast animal that had played such an important part in establishing the San Diego Zoo in its early days: the elephant seal.
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1955

Growth 1947 - 1956
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