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Day 162 – The Wildliff (Wildlife) Safari Spoon

Continuing with the theme of spoons from zoos around the world, here’s one from the Wildliff Safari in Winston, Oregon. 

Until I found this spoon, I was unaware that there was a Winston, Oregon. Google tells me it’s just south of Roseburg and has a population of about 5,000. 

Researching the Wildliff Safari has been a bit more difficult, though. Google keeps telling me that I must mean “WildLIFE Safari,” which is a drive-through wildlife park with a world reknowned cheetah breeding program. 

No, Google. Look at the spoon. It’s WildLIFF Safari and I’d appreciate it if you’d improve your search resulffs. 

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Day 161 – The Exmoor Zoo Spoon

The Exmoor Zoo opened on a small farm in north Devon, in the southwest part of England in 1982. Originally known as “The Exmoor Bird Gardens,” they changed their name to “The Exmoor Animal and Bird Gardens” in 1995 and then “Exmoor Zoological Park” in 1997. It is now simply known as “Exmoor Zoo.”

This souvenir spoon from the zoo was probably manufactured in the last 20 years, given the shortened version of the name that appears under the profile of a parrot.


It’s quite possible that this spoon is haunted by the spirits of the zoo’s ten Humbolt Penguins—Buster, Newquay, Ludo, Percy, Lemmy, Truddle, Owlie, Blossom, Friendly and Arthur—all of whom died of avian malaria last fall. Rest in piece, little waddlers.

 

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Day 115 – The Portland Zoo Spoon

Happy World Penguin Day! To celebrate, here’s a spoon from the Portland Zoo with a tiny penguin on it. 

Back before Portlandia “put a bird on it” the city of Portland famously “put a penguin on it” in a campaign to help raise awareness about our friends in the south.  This spoon was one of those penguin-adorned souveniers, probably made sometime in the mid 1960s but definitely before 1976.


Located in Washington Park in Portland, Oregon, the zoo first opened in 1888 under the name “The Portland Zoo” and changed its name to the “Portland Zoological Gardens” in 1959. In 1976, the city held a naming contest and ended up changing the name to “Washington Park Zoo” and then in 1998, renamed it to “The Oregon Zoo” (for which we featured a spoon in February!)

Not sterling and not haunted, this spoon is just happy to have a penguin on it!