by Linda Harris Sittig
Long before we had Hollywood stars campaigning for animal rights, there was Belle Jennings Benchley.
BEFORE THE ZOO
Born in August 1882 to a strait-laced Victorian family in rural Kansas, Belle’s future was mapped out to become a teacher, a wife, and a mother. The family moved to a different rural area outside of San Diego, California, when Belle was five years old, and she flourished in the school housed inside her house.
In 1906 she married Henry Benchley, and they had a son, Edward. The marriage, however, did not thrive; by 1925, she was a single mother.
Then, as the fates would intervene, a group of five forward-thinking men comprised the San Diego Zoological Society. Together they had gathered up a few abandoned circus animals to open a zoo with the primary goal of teaching children about wildlife. And they needed a bookkeeper.
Never mind that Belle had no experience or training in accounting; she somehow landed the job. And that event would change her life and American zoos forever.
In the 1920s, zoos worldwide had one main goal– to make money. Food was whatever was the cheapest to provide, and the life expectancy of a wild animal thrust into a zoo was abysmal – often less than a month. The welfare of the animals was a distant thought. Going to a zoo back then, you would have seen the animals kept in tight metal cages where the audience could jab objects at them.
BELLE AND THE ANIMALS
From the beginning, Belle became more than a bookkeeper. Day by day, she went cage by cage to learn the feeding procedures and upkeep of each creature inhabiting the still very small San Diego Zoo. She fielded phone calls from the public about the zoo, checked on the welfare of the animals each day, and began to make suggestions on how to improve the animals’ lives while in captivity.
As time passed, Belle assumed more and more duties at the zoo, and she never stopped making suggestions on how the animals could be treated better. She was the first to suggest they do away with cages entirely and build open-air habitats instead. This was unheard of in her day, and all the experts were aghast – think of the cost!
Within two years, Dr. Wegeforth, the head of the Zoological Society, named her as the executive secretary of the zoo while she acted as the full-time director. She was the first woman in the world to hold that kind of position. And Belle thoroughly used her title; she researched how the zoo could build open-air habitats surrounded by moats and feed the animals the same diet they ate in the wild. Then she hired a full-time zoo veterinarian to take care of the animals and set up an animal hospital on-site.
Survival rates at the San Diego Zoo shot skyward, and Belle’s programs were instrumental in having successful zoo breeding and live births. Not stopping there, she also developed a zoo nursery so the female animals could safely give birth and have their offspring nurtured. She continued her discipline by walking the zoo at least once a day and inspecting how the animals were treated. Any zoo worker caught being cruel to an animal was fired on the spot.
THE GIRAFFES
Then came 1938, and the rest of America was still reeling from the Great Depression. Belle learned that there were two African giraffes that she could obtain for the San Diego Zoo. And back then, as now, giraffes were awe-inspiring creatures.
While her colleagues looked on, Belle arranged to have the giraffes shipped from Africa to New York and then hired a man with a specialized outfitted rig to drive the giraffes from New York to California. So many problems could have sabotaged the trip, but the two giraffes arrived at a heady celebration within the zoo gates.
After her much-heralded success with the giraffes, Belle instituted a school program where children were bused to the zoo for what today we would call a field trip. Once at the zoo, they were accompanied in groups to learn about the different animals, their native habitats, and how we, as humans, can protect animals from possible extinction.
And always, the visitors marveled how the animals would perk up when Belle approached a habitat. It was as if they could sense her extreme love for everyone. And she did care for every species, although she professed that the primates were her favorites.
Belle went on to write and publish informative publications to teach the public about the happenings at the zoo. She penned memoirs of her remarkable life and often appeared on radio and television to encourage visitors to see the latest exhibition. And for Belle, the animals’ welfare always trumped the visitors’ wishes.
Even throughout WWII, The San Diego Zoo flourished under Belle’s visionary leadership. In 1949 she became the first female president of the Zoological Society, but when she finally retired in 1953, she retained her simple nickname of The Zoo Lady. What had started as a small group of cast-off circus animals had become the bellwether of zoos worldwide.
HER LEGACY
Belle Jennings Benchley died in 1973, and on her gravestone is engraved, The Zoo Lady. At the top is the etching of a gorilla.
I learned about Belle from blog follower Mary Lou Muller who suggested I read West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. The book is based on the 1938 adventure of bringing the giraffes to San Diego. After reading the book, I wanted to learn all I could about Belle Benchley and how her legacy was to transform the concept of zoos.
A few months ago, I found myself at the North Carolina State Zoo next to the open-air exhibit for giraffes. The next thing I knew, I had climbed a platform and fed Romaine lettuce to a 3,000-pound giraffe, who was delighted to reach out his enormous tongue and pluck the lettuce from my hand. It was an amazing experience, and now I know I owe it all to the vision of Belle Benchley.
I hope you enjoyed Belle’s story. Please pass this month’s blog on to friends who would also enjoy reading about another unusual Strong Woman. If you are not yet a follower, sign up with your email on the right sidebar, and you will automatically receive the blog once a month.
Right now, I am watching the birds at my back feeder and ready to research my next Strong Woman.
Wishing you the best in the new year and a happy, healthy 2023!
~ Linda
What an inspiring story and a key to understanding why the San Diego Zoo is such a special place!
Wasn’t this piece interesting! I visited the San Diego Zoo in the summer of 1965 and thought it was beautiful. I wish I had known about Belle Benchley back then! Glad you liked the piece on Belle:)
linda:)
As an animal lover, I am so grateful to people like Belle Benchley. It used to upset me as a child to see the animals in cages with not much room to move around. By the time I took my children and later grandchildren to zoos, the animals had much more freedom.
I so agree Darlene. Zoos always bothered me when I was a kid. The animals always looked so sad. Thank goodness that has all changed!
linda:)
Marvelous story!
Thanks, Kay. I would love to have met her in person!
linda:)
I recently finished reading West With Giraffes. Your in depth research about Belle Benchley gave me a better portrait of this amazing woman and her contribution to animal welfare in our zoos. Putting wild animals into natural habitats was truly an innovation and progressive idea.
I so agree, Sue. It made me smile to think of her as a gutsy woman declaring that the animals should be in open-air natural habitats instead of cages. I’m sure she drove people nuts with her insistence, but thank goodness she persevered. I just finished West with Giraffes, too. I enjoyed it.
linda:)
What a great story. Gives me the opportunity to believe that I can do what I truly want even if I do not have the experience or training.
Oh Chris, I so agree! I think lots of us let ourselves get held back because we don’t have the experience or training. But in the 12 years I’ve been writing this blog I have learned that passion is the key ingredient. If you are passionate about an idea, then go for it. Most of the women I write about never had training or experience, but they all had passion and they all persevered to follow their dream. Good luck.
linda:)
What an amazing woman!
As always, I love your posts!
Thanks, Bobbie, I always appreciate your support!
linda:)
Thank for that fascinating story and enjoy your birds
Thanks Kathy Jo, we are now living in North Carolina, so there are a ton of birds – even through winter! Yesterday I had a robin and two bluebirds at the feeder!
linda:)
My family moved to San Diego just after World War II when I was 8 years old. My dad became editor of one the the San Diego newspapers. I fell in love with th Zoo and met Mrs. Benchley. I wet to the zoo via a bus every Saturday and often stopped by her office. Occsionally, she invit3ed me to go with her on her walks.
As a result, I wrote stories about animal births for the paper and they were often published. Frequently, I quoted Mrs. Benchley.
I also got to know her successor, Dr.Schroeder.
Now living in a Washington retirement home, I do get back to San Diego every other year. I always visit the zoo.
Davis Kennedy
Davis, I am so envious that you knew Belle Benchley! I was so impressed with her story as I researched her for the blog. She was quite a lady and I applaud her tenacity! I am glad you enjoyed her story on my blog and hope you sign p to become a blog follower so you can read about other inspirational women. http://www.strongwomeninhistory.com
linda:)
As a HUGE animal lover and VERY amateur naturalist I just LOVED this story of the Zoo Lady! Thank goodness for her and for people like her world wide. May this new year be good to you and ALL your blog readers, Linda. Karen
What a great story. I wish I had known Belle’s story when I lived in California.
I know, right?! I visited the San Diego Zoo back in the summer of 1965, but never knew anything about Belle. I found one picture where she was driving her Jeep around the Zoo and had an orangutan sitting in her lap! Quite a lady!
Thanks, Karen. You might enjoy reading West with Giraffes, the fictionalized story of how the giraffes made it to the San Diego Zoo back in 1938. I’m glad you liked learning about Belle.
linda:)
This is so great to see people honoring Belle. My mothers mother was Married to Belles only son Edward and even though he wasn’t my blood he was my grandfather and also an amazing person. His daughter Laurel is my moms younger sister and she’s the one who drew the primate etching that’s on Belles gravestone. Thank again for writing about her.
Hi Gary, Thank you so much for posting this! It has been amazing how many people have written about their connection to Belle. I went to the San Diego zoo the summer of my high school graduation back in the ’60s. I so wish I had known about Belle back then. She was quite a lady! A true Strong Woman. I hope you will continue to follow my blog and share it with friends and family.
linda:)