| Feather Hill Ranch Zoo | |
|---|---|
 Feather Hill Poultry Ranch, Santa Barbara, California (Los Angeles Times, 1925) | |
 | |
| Date opened | 1924 |
| Date closed | 1930 |
| Location | East Valley Road, Montecito, California |
| Owner | Chris Holmes |
 | |
TheFeather Hill Zoo orFeather Hill Ranch Zoo was a U.S. private animal collection inMontecito, California owned byChristian R. Holmes from 1924 to 1930. Featherhill Ranch was located on East Valley Road "astrideRomero Creek."[1] Originally a poultry operation, the ranch rapidly established a large collection of birds and animals to attract customers to the site.
In April 1924, Holmes began buying the parcels that became the Feather Hill Ranch as part of a plan to make money raising chickens.[1] The display collection began with exotic birds shown at theVentura County Fair in fall 1924.[1] In 1925 the 62-acre (0.097 sq mi; 0.25 km2; 25 ha) ranch had 12,000 free-rangeWhite Leghorns, keptRhode Island Reds andLight Brahmas for sale ascapons, and offered holiday turkeys.[2] The ranch also hadJapanese silkiebantam chickens,Buff Cochin bantams,White King pigeons, "several varieties of pheasants, twelve varieties of doves, and several hundred finches, canaries, and other small birds," and ostriches.[2]
The zoo was open to the public on weekends (when families could visit and also stock up on chicken for the week's meals)[3] and every weekday except Monday.[4] The animal collection included foxes,ringtail cats, monkeys, amountain lion,[2] an orangutan,[4] a pair of leopards, hyenas,bobcats, raccoons,[3] a black panther, a spotted panther,[5] camels,springboks, alligators, snakes, aGila monster,[6] a kangaroo, awallaby,coatis,fennec foxes, two cheetahs, "four huge lions,"[4] assorted bears (sun,cinnamon, black[4]), an elephant, and chimpanzees named Pansy and Violet.[1] Pansy was human-acculturated and would go to dinners and travel around town by motor car.[1] The orangutan was a large male called Sultan.[4]
In 1926 a newspaper reported that an elephant named Culver had been purchased from a circus because Holmes' son had requested an elephant; the elephant came as matched set with a pony named Bunny.[7] In 1928 the zoo acquired 28 mule deer fromKaibab National Forest.[8] Later the same year the Feather Hill Zoo bought threeBengal tigers and a sacred Indian baboon fromAl G. Barnes Circus.[9] In December 1928, theblackbuck andaxis deer both had new fawns.[10] According to one account theLeo the original MGM lion retired to Feather Hill.[11] Thecarnivores at the zoo were fed surplus chicken from the poultry operation.[3] The zoo also had a large number ofGreat Danes,mastiffs, and "various kinds of dogs" that were offered for sale and/or "used to help in the recapture of escaped animals."[4]
Holmes built an artificial lake that was frequented by wildfowl andmigratory birds.[6] Circa 1929 the bird collection includedbald eagles,golden eagles, flamingos, an Australiangalah parrot,macaws,budgies,lovebirds,Goura pigeons, doves,turkey vultures, ravens, crows,magpies, a pair ofbrolgas, a white peacock, anAfrican secretary bird, and acassowary.[4]
In 1930, Holmes offered the collection to the city ofSanta Barbara but they declined, so the animals were purchased byHerbert Fleishhacker and moved to theSan Francisco Zoo.[12]William Randolph Hearst had also been interested in purchasing the collection forHearst Castle.[13] After selling off the Feather Hill animal collection, Holmes moved to Hawaii where he established another private zoo on his private island.[14]
34°26′12″N119°38′07″W / 34.4366°N 119.6353°W /34.4366; -119.6353