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1916 Princess Alice escape recalled as Liberty Park zoo moved to Emigration Canyon
Summary
A presenter for Utah Libraries and History recounted that Liberty Park housed a small zoo beginning in 1911 and that a 32-year-old Asian elephant named Princess Alice escaped in 1916, an episode the presenter said prompted relocation of the zoo to the mouth of Emigration Canyon.
Presenter, a speaker at a Utah Libraries and History event, recounted that Salt Lake City’s Liberty Park hosted a small zoo beginning in 1911 and that in 1916 the zoo purchased a 32-year-old Asian elephant named Princess Alice, who escaped and made it as far as Parleys Canyon before being returned to the collection.
The account said the Liberty Park collection began with monkeys and deer and that the popularity of the deer led the zoo to acquire more mammals and birds. “Her name was Princess Alice,” the presenter said. The presenter added that Princess Alice “escaped the zoo and went stampeding through the hills of Salt Lake” and that she was recovered at the mouth of Parleys Canyon.
The presenter said the 1916 escape was a major factor in the decision to relocate the city zoo from Liberty Park to its present site at the mouth of Emigration Canyon. The presenter also noted that Princess Alice was not the only animal to escape from the Liberty Park location that year.
The presenter did not provide additional documentary citations or exact dates for the relocation beyond saying it occurred after the 1916 episode. No formal actions or votes were recorded in the meeting regarding the account.
