We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Broken-Down Zoo, and the 200 Animals That Changed a Family Forever - Softcover

Mee, Benjamin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007431821 ISBN 13: 9780007431823

Publisher: Harper, 2012

Synopsis

A film tie-in edition to 20th Century Fox’s film adaptation of the heart-warming international bestseller starring Scarlett Johansson and Matt Damon and directed by Oscar-winning director Cameron Crowe.

An amazing true story that has inspired the major Hollywood motion picture this Christmas, to be repackaged for release alongside the film. We Bought a Zoo is about one young family, a broken down zoo, and the wild animals that changed their lives forever. When Ben [played by Damon] and his wife Katherine [played by Johansson] sold their small flat in Primrose Hill, upped sticks with their children and invested their savings into a dilapidated zoo on the edge of Dartmoor, they were prepared for a challenge and a momentous change in all their lives. With over 200 exotic animals to care for – including an African lion, a wolf pack, a Brazilian tapir and a jaguar – Ben’s hands, and those of his wife, children and tiny team of keepers, were full.

What they weren’t prepared for was Katherine’s devastating second brain cancer diagnosis. Ben found himself juggling the daunting responsibilities of managing the park’s staff and finances, while holding the bailiffs at bay and caring for his wife.

A moving and entertaining story of courage and a family’s attempts to rebuild a zoo, and carry on after Katherine’s tragic death.

About this title

Review:

DAILY MAIL
“Mee writes most movingly about his wife’s fatal illness, his children coming to terms with this, his sprightly old mum and, of course, his 200 wild animals in all their diverse glory.”

THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH
“We Bought a Zoo by Mee is a genuinely heartwarming true story of triumph over devastating events.”

SHORTLIST
“An engaging tale from someone who dared to do something different.”

THE WESTERN DAILY PRESS
‘’One of the most inspiring books I’ve read.”

INTERNATIONAL ZOO NEWS
“Hard to put down.”

ABERDEEN PRESS & JOURNAL
****
“Most people who spotted the advert appealing for new owners for an ailing zoo would not even have considered the possibility. Much more likely, they would have dismissed the idea out of hand. But one adventurous family saw a challenge and were prepared to meet it head on.”

From the Author:

When I first saw the details for a small zoo in Dartmoor advertised through a normal residential estate agents in 2005, I thought it was an insane idea. Now, three years and many unimaginable tribulations later, I can say, without fear of contradiction, that it was.
I had a comfortable, if frugal, life in the sun of southern France, writing a book about animal intelligence and a column in the Guardian, a happy position which had taken many years to achieve, and I was reluctant to exchange this for a such a dramatically different way of life (in one of the wettest counties in England) with so many potential pitfalls and unknown variables. But the upside, if it came off, proved too alluring, for me and the rest of my family. We persuaded each other that it was a good idea, and in October 2006, with no previous experience, we bought a zoo. My mum, 76 at the time, sold the family home, and moved into the broken down manor house at the centre of the zoo with my brother Duncan, me, my wife Katherine and our two small children. We expected things to be difficult, though ultimately rewarding enough to make it all worthwhile. We were right on both counts, though the ratio of `difficulty' to `rewarding' was slightly different from that which we had anticipated.
The rewards were evident every day right from the start. Tigers, bears and lions in the garden (well, in enclosures in the garden), the chance to bring a better life to more than 200 exotic animals, and re-open a much loved attraction which also had a valuable role to play in education and conservation. This was our motivation - the financial rewards of zoo ownership, by the way, are non-existent or, more accurately, negative.
The problems in achieving those rewards, however, were, as we kind of knew they would be, far greater than expected. Finding qualified staff to manage the animals, trying to borrow vast sums of money on a closed, failed business, and dealing with the regulations associated with getting a Zoo licence so that we could open to the public, kept us occupied about 23 hours a day. Then there were the complications caused by the escapes of several dangerous beasts, and by far the worst, right in the middle of everything, a family tragedy. Katherine had been diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour in France which had been successfully treated, but returned during our first Christmas at the zoo.
This terrible loss could have been the end of everything, but somehow the zoo, complicated as it was, became our salvation. It wasn't just that the zoo was a distraction. It was a bit like being part of a large farm, where life goes on, despite the loss of individual people or animals. There are births and deaths, and even greater issues to consider, like the welfare and development of all the animals, and the staff. The zoo is bigger than any one person, and the cycle of life is very evident within it.
And it does also present extraordinarily absorbing problems. One of the biggest headaches, surprisingly, is the trees. The thirty acre site is home to hundreds of huge, luscious trees (one of the things which attracted me away from the parched scrubland of Mediterranean France). But I'm a worrier, and any one of them might blow down at any moment, injuring members of the public, or potentially worse, breaching an enclosure during the night. This could release three tigers, two lions, three bears, a pack of wolves, two pumas or a jaguar, or any combination of the above, out onto the moor and into the stormy night. And we probably wouldn't hear about it until morning.
These are the sorts of things which have me pacing around in windy weather in far reaches of the park at 4.30 in the morning. The day begins early, usually with a staff problem (we have 37 now, so the scope is virtually endless), proceeding to the interminable admin, and then, if you're lucky, overseeing a building project like the design of the new lynx enclosure. But what makes it worthwhile, and so worthwhile, is the exposure to the animals. The public see them basking in the sunshine, or feeding by shinning up their new scratching posts to retrieve a treat placed carefully at the top. We get to see them behind the scenes, when they're being cleaned out, or poorly, or giving birth. Carrying and then stroking an anaesthetised tiger on a stretcher to a vet room which we have built, is a privilege of almost unimaginable proportions. Touching a lion under anaesthetic, holding the tongue of a bear so that the dentist can treat his abscess, also knowing that we are helping to improve his life, these are the things which have made the whole experience worthwhile. You never lose the sense of privilege, but you do begin to get used to experiencing it. We're spoiled, really, which becomes apparent when new people, like volunteers or new members of staff, experience it. They are struck with awe, which we feel too, though we have grown used to expecting it. Already we are relatively old hands, appreciative but unfazed by the proximity of large unconscious predators. Who could ask for a more worthwhile job? Or a better retirement for an adventurous older lady?
In the middle of this barely controlled mayhem, with limitless help from my brother Duncan and my mum, I found time to write this book, We Bought a Zoo, kindly commissioned by Harper Collins. Their support, and that of the camera crew who made the four part documentary series on BBC2 Ben's Zoo (a misnomer over which I had no control and caused all kinds of family ructions), made the whole thing possible.
And if someone reading this finds themselves in the unlikely position of thinking about buying a zoo? My advice would probably be don't do it. But I'm glad that we did.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0007431821
• ISBN 13: 9780007431823
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320