Ep44 with Jan van Hooff on growing up in a zoo, Burgers' Zoo in WWII, and how connecting with a drill shaped his career

Jan van Hooff was born in a zoo in 1936. He grew up in Burgers’ Zoo, founded and named after his grandfather Johan Burgers. His grandfather was a butcher and in the meat trade, and also an avid collector of pheasants. Jan shared how the zoo grew as other animals were added to the pheasant collection, like boars, deer and a rescued bear. He also shares some operational details and approaches to zoos in the Netherlands and other European cities in the early 19th century.

Jan shares how his grandfather would travel to Germany for his trade and how I came in contact with the work of Karl Hagenbeck in Hamburg, the winter quarters of the circus animals as displays without bars but using ditches and other barriers that allowed for containment as well as unobstructed viewing. He was fascinated by this design and in 1913 in Arnhem Burgers’ Zoo opened. 

Jan shares how his father and mother met, and how his father was a big animal friend, and how he grows up with all the animals in the zoo, also caring for puppies hunting dogs. 

On the 10th of May 1940 Jan shares his memories of the start of the WWII, at first the war was far away, and then how the war came closer and closer, starting one of the most difficult periods in the zoo and how they cared as best as possible for the animals until the war was over.  

Jan shares how he started studying biology at the University of Biology. He wanted to study zoology and animal behaviour and inspired by Darwin’s books including facial expressions, emotions, and principles of antithesis. Jan shares how his connection with a drill shaped his career and study interests. He shares how he became interested in ethology and studying with Niko Tinbergen and what he will share in his next podcast. 

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