Smithsonian-Firestone Expedition to Liberia (1940)

Smithsonian-Firestone Expedition to Liberia (1940) collected live animals for the National Zoological Park in the vicinity of Belle Yella, Bindaja, Grand Cape Mount Liberia. The Expedition was financed by the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, and went to Monrovia, Liberia via Dakar, Conakry. Expedition personnel included Ralph Norris, Roy Jennier, William and Lucile Mann of the National Zoological Park. Animals were both captured by the expedition and given to the expedition by hosts or natives. In addition to live animals, a considerable collection of alcoholic specimens was also made, along with dried skins and ethnological materials. Some of the animals collected were placed on display at the New York World’s Fair, in the Firestone Tire & Rubber Exhibition and were forwarded to the National Zoological Park at the close of the Fair. Alcoholic and dried specimens were also sent to the National Museum.