"WILD ANIMALS ARE NOT MUCH DISTURBED BY AIR RAIDS IN THE ZOOS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 257, 13 January 1941, Page 3

"WILD ANIMALS ARE NOT MUCH DISTURBED BY AIR RAIDS IN THE ZOOS

How do the wild animals of Great Britain behave during air raids? Word comes through the Scientific Events column of Science,, weekly organ of -the American Association for the Advancement of Science that so far as the London Zoo is concerned there is little to report. Most of the animals sleep at night when things are really happening. After a bad night and during su'ch day raids as take place, they seem unconcerned. Almost all the Association's geese are "elsewhere," sc that it has not been possible to confirm the reports that geese arc peculiarly alert sentinels for raid raids. At Maidstone Zoo, in general the experience is I lie same, except that two chimpanzees, though tliey do not mind the guns, stamp and shriek at the siren. Of two emus, one is indifferent lo noise, but the other gets excited when the anti-aircraft guns begin to hark. A cow elephant about 20 years old hurries to her house if the antiairerait liar rage catches her in tlu open, but once there she does not wem to mind. A good deal of evidence seems to show that many of the larger birds.are distuibed by the noise, but song-birds and other passerines do not mind the noise much. When these, are aloft they scatter downward and crouch to avoid detection. Neither robins nor swallows pay any attention whatever to aircraft. Domestic animals vary individually. Snm- rlr-.v- \vef.< be—.