The History of Chimpanzees in Hanshin Park

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  • 阪神パークのチンパンジー
  • ハンシン パーク ノ チンパンジー

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“Hanshin Park” located in Nishinomiya, Hyogo prefecture was an amusement park owned and operated by the Hanshin electric railway company limited. The park was opened near Koshien Stadium in 1929, using the land after the exposition of accession for Emperor Showa. In the1930’s it had a chimpanzee, extremely unusual to see for the public in Japan. Unfortunately, the park was closed in 2003. We investigated the history of the facility the chimpanzees lived in, by checking documents, newspaper articles, and research papers. The female chimpanzee named“ Opera” was imported to Japan from Africa in 1934 and she became nationally famous, riding a bicycle, walking on stilts, and so on. Although it is not known when Opera died, it is estimated that she lived there for 2 to 5 years. A male chimpanzee named“ Bamboo” came to Kobe around 1940. Because the site of the park was using for military airport, he had to move to Higashiyama Zoo, Nagoya-city in 1943. By the end of World War II, he was the only chimpanzee still alive in Japan. Hanshin Park was opened again nearby in 1950 and a female chimpanzee named“ Birdie” arrived in 1973. Two of the three chimpanzees found in this research were not registered in the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums studbook. The information will be valuable not only for learning more about captive chimpanzees but also for improvement of their welfare.

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