WELLINGTON'S ZOO.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2013, 21 March 1914, Page 6

WELLINGTON'S ZOO.

MANY QUESm SOME RECENT CHANGES. BRITAIN & AMERICA, [By John Grewis, President of the Wei* lingtou .Zoological Society.] The fence that eucloses this present Zoo separates It from what was perhaps the most beautiful part of the original Zoo grounds. Why was that beautiful pj>3ce cut off?. Ahenit I have toever been told; and, as my notes are educational rather than disputational, I will not here tell wliat I think about that, I mention it to show why the flamm* goes, cranes, mandarin ducks, gallrnules, macaws, mest of the pheasants, parrakeets and cockatoos, and several other exhibits that were embowered in a beautiful sylvan glen have been shifted, Then, as a consequential shift, the pig, and t-ho brush-.tailed wallabies, and tho rukms-ttoekod wallaby, and tlio kangaroos have been shifted. And all this shifting has .prompted many questions. "Where aro the fiaugaroos?" I have i been asked, The kangaroos aro up" in ■ a pen nest to that iu which the ostriches aw, a.ud the Bennett's Wallaby ; and the rufous-necked wallaby are- nestdoor neighbours to them. But where are the beautiful little ducks that Were Up in the largo aviary ? asked a clergyman's wife the other day. I generally take my friends ta see the mandarin ducks fii'fifc of all," she said, "they are so peculiar, and so beautiful. Where aro .tboy?" Changing Their Goats. KoW, it so happened that just whtti the mandarin ducks were shifted they were moulting, and' whe.ii- they, change their coats they pass through such changes of for® and colours that their warmest admirers, unless they watcn them carefully, fail to recognise them in ■ their undress. No casual ■ ■obserrcr would imagine that the little plain drab drake, scarcely dietinguisl.iab.lo fran his wife, is thoi sama bird that, with a proud Napoleonic strut, was, wbtui dressed in'his variegated coat of many colours, tlio most pretentious little- fellow in the Zeo. In the next month admirers of- Nature, and students will See smtch to wonder at- and study attd explain, or leave imespkinctl,Jii the mar-' veHous developments that hare just again started on tlio mandarin drakes. But where ate the macaws and cockatooes and flamingoes ? Tlicy, with-most of the other birds I have mentioned, the' mandarins, included, are in a row of commodious aviaries, which have been tiuilt on, the site of the pens hi ■ Which : the kangaroos were kept until recently. . The cranes also are in a Mew pen, but I think that their present lodgings are ■ only temporary. They aro in one of the nuiv pens in the same row as tlio. pens in which the hyena a.nd the brusls- ' tailed wallabies now are, I am pleased, however, that they do not sulk or mope. They have improved splendidly sitrco ih-oy were brought to tire ! Zoo, and now have 110 reason to be ■ . ashamed of the first suit of crane's -at*' tire ever woven hi .Wellington. A Vary Shy Bird> There am in .©w .Zoo bat fo.w bMfe. lnt'fo beaTXtifiti. than the liyWid produced by a: cross between the goidcii «ad ;; the Amherst species 'of pheasants, But wheij this gorgeous bird was in the; pheasaiitry most of the- time it stayed in tho house, and was seen toy. but very feiv people and now'.when it is in pno of tire sections of the small birds' aviary, on the bank, nearly opposite the lions' den, it iweps itself in the shads of its sbelter-slicd, aiid, although moving as though iu perpetual motion, mores so noiselessly that, it attracts but very little attention. In the section next to that of the canaries budgerigars and goldfinches this gorgeous but Unostentatious product of hybridization: may be seen. Most of the other pheasants in.the Zoo are temporarily located in this although two fine young male golden pheasants, are down where ' the waders are in tho aviary where the .mew fountain is. A Pair Of Frizzy Attractions. On tho lak® in the %ao two geese have recently attracted much attention. Their feathers af-o so frizzy, and their ■pltfmago is so unlike that of the domestic, goose, .-ft-lijcH tks.y resemble in crfojir, and in the form of their heads, that they have excited much curiosity. Of purse- sense observers who no sooner see a conclusion than they jnmv at it-, promptly and -emphatically express the opinion that tie strange birds are' ordinary English geese moulting, and in a condition of raggeeJness. But more studious observers notice that, in texture, ite soft silky feathers of these' geese are unlike the feuthors of the English geese. The now arrivals are* we aro told. Sebastopol geese. Some persons call thorn Savojiiopol geese, but Sevastopol is, I beitcfr-e, the Russian form of Scba.stopol. Tlio feathers of Mte Sebastopol geese aro peculiar, some of tlism being elongated, curled, and sarrally twisted'. The shafts.of the feathers aro very thin, and, being split, oiW the feathers to droop a.ud trail. I »av« read thai tho purebred Were white a»d_l can imagine, that -num white specunens flf this; species might be very beautiful. But in England the SebasWs have interbred freely with the cmmmmi domestic goose. I therefore am not sure that the two geese I am referring to ar» pure; hut even if cross-bred, they aro certainly interesting. A Pedigree Angora Coat. . Mr. 0. S. .Phillips, of. Kaitoke, has presented, per my society, to the citv lor its Zoo « purebred Angora goat. We are told that this is an animal Iho pedigree of which is known. We therefore will not doubt the purity of this one. When Mr. Castle, tho'secretary of'the society, mentioned this to a prominent ><.'itizeii of Wellington he suggested that ivo aright sooii bo able to supply goats to eat the gorse that is how spreading ' ever tho Town Belt, But I am inclined to think that die city could now supply goats to eat the gorso, if means could be devised ;o. prevent■the goats from eating other tilings. If the City Qouit-ei.l-<;ould fen-.va tlio Town Belt with a -goat-pi'oof fence, the -tha.r would, I think,,soon oat tho gorse. But if thethar were lot lease to eat the. gorse,' who W<Mild guarantee to keep them out of gardens? However, from time immemorial Angora- goats have, 1 believe, been highly appreciated, and now the sclio-il children of New Zealand will be able to see a breed of goats that kaft played an important part in the industry and commerce of the world, We now have a pair of young Angora goats .in the Zoo. They should way for their keep, and be cat jpcts of 'iitnrot to- s.ovcta'l classes .1 Of students.- Fifty years ago. a _ writer, writing of the work of the AcoUftiatisa* tion Sbcioty of Melbourne-, safcl:. "The Aurora Scat is rasoiviug great fttteiitioii, and is likely to furnish a very valuable addition, to the resources of our. graziers and of exports to our mercLants. A considerable number of the best- breed has lately been presented by tho Acclimatisation Society of France; Vwfobred g-nttts are now rupidlv WHiltiplyJiie;." I am'sorry that Mr. 'Philips didn't send along the pedigree with the goat, but wo are oxpect'tis to receive it soon. \<iiv, whit? 31?. Miilb'ps is hoMng up the pedicrea «f the goat, wjll aaj per-

son present a female llama, which is muck needed in the Zoo? American Eaglss. We are expecting white-headed caglps. In Newton's "Dictionary oi : Birds;' is this remarkable sentence: "Eagles inhabit all tho regions *>f tho world flxee.pt New Zealand.'* Well, most of the nations of the world have had enough or' eagles, and wo do not want ■ to see them at hoerty in New Zealand, ■ but a considerable caftusunitf of civilised people without a Zoo is an anomaly, and so also is a Zoo without eagles. J.IIO eagle is, w'o are told, tho olids-mi ©mblein of the United States. Every person in New Zealand, especially every young person, should be taught tkt a good mutual agreement between ov-erv pnrt of tho British Umpire and tiro \jnited States should bo the greatest of nil earthly factors for the maintenance sf tho peace of the world and the advancement of tho welfare of all tho nations. I am gl'ad that the Government of Now Zealand is arranging ths products of tho Dominion to Iw worthily represented at tho great Panama Exposition, and tjiat- by 'permission of our Government, through the mediation of the Wellington City Council, the. Society of Which I am president is to have, tho honour of placing in our Zoo the American eagle to take its stand as. it, always should by tho side of tho_ British lion. It may seem rather ambitious, but I ani not 'without, hone that I may yot excite Mr, Castle, tho treasurer of our society, to work up an. ttrt'• competition that shall call forth composite pictures of tho British lion and tho American eagle which shali reveal in oi4r midst tho painters of animals who oily, need a great ncca-' sion to stimulate them to evolve ideas find produce pictures At to adorn tho' walls of the palace of art which tho New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts hepes to build 311 tho eourso of tho nest few wraths,'