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Firma Ruhe or Louis Ruhe (
Firma Ruhe by Dan Koehl at Elephant Encyclopedia
Animal traders {{Germany-stub
Firma Ruhe or Louis Ruhe (German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
: ''Tierhandelsfirma L. Ruhe''; "pet trade company of L. Ruhe") was a multinational, multigenerational family business dealing in wild animals for zoos and circuses. The firm was founded in Germany in 1780 by Louis Ruhe. According to another account, Ludwig Ruhe started the firm in 1830. It may have originally dealt in birds sold at local markets and carnivals.
The German operation may have been located in Alfeld
Alfeld is a town in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. Located on the Leine river, it is the second biggest city in the district of Hildesheim in southern Lower Saxony and part of the Metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsbur ...
with port access at Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
. The company also had a 1,500-acre farm in Arusha
Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census).
Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern bran ...
, Tanganyika Territory
Tanganyika was a colonial territory in East Africa which was administered by the United Kingdom in various guises from 1916 to 1961. It was initially administered under a military occupation regime. From 20 July 1922, it was formalised into a L ...
(now Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
) for "collecting new stock." Overseas, an American outlet was established in New York in 1869. There was also a London office.
According to one 1940 news report, Firma Ruhe sold 75 percent of the wild animals imported into the United States; pandas cost $10,000, baby gorillas were $4,000, and pythons were sold by the foot ($5 per). Circa 1946, ''Time'' magazine described it as a $3 million a year business. Before World II, the firm had 20 "agents abroad," after the war they were starting back with six. (The firm had a veteran collector in India named Meems.) A 1959 fire at the firm's Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
, New York holding facility killed five Galápagos tortoise
The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger'') is a species of very large tortoise in the genus ''Chelonoidis'' (which also contains three smaller species from mainland South America). It comprises 15 subspecies (13 ...
s, seven mandrill
The mandrill (''Mandrillus sphinx'') is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is sexually dimorphic, as males ...
s, and 28 Guenon monkeys. Two baby Western lowland gorilla
The western lowland gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla gorilla'') is one of two Critically Endangered subspecies of the western gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla'') that lives in Montane ecosystems#Montane forests, montane, Old-growth forest, primary and sec ...
s survived.
Firma Ruhe was involved in operating and maintaining Hanover Municipal Zoo. Another Ruhe-operated zoo, Ruhr-Zoo (now ''ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen
ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen, founded on April 14, 1949, as "Ruhr-Zoo", is one of the most modern zoological gardens in Germany. It was founded on a heavily bomb, shelled area in Gelsenkirchen adjacent to a port on the Rhine–Herne Canal. It ...
'') was located at Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...
in the Ruhr area
The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...
of North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
.
References
External links
Firma Ruhe by Dan Koehl at Elephant Encyclopedia
Animal traders {{Germany-stub