THE ZOO

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2156, 23 May 1914, Page 6

THE ZOO

QUEENIE'S CHANGE OF FORTUNE THE AQUARIUM WHAT THE BROWN BEAR DID (By John Crowes, President of the Wellington Zoological Society.)

Queeriie, a beautiful lioness, was placed in the Wellington Zoo. Patrons of the Zoo imagined that such a royal lady would be a suitable consort for King Dick, and • that soon tho happy home of the lions would be graced with a noble family. But, alas I. Queenio yielded no progeny, and Mary, a lioness of equal beautyj and perhaps more amiablo disposition, reigned in her stead. Soon Mary gavo birtb to twins, a' worthy son and daughter. Then Mary was .praised—tho- proud mother was lauded highly—and poor Queenio was despised. She, however, was not despondent. Although relocated to the hardships of a travelling circus menagerie, she did not mourn, and mope, and despair. This year sho returned in the menagerie on the annual visit of Wirths' Circus to New Zealand. And what have we heard of tho return visit? The "Theatre Magazine" for May 1, 1914, tells that while Queenio was in New Zealand, on March 17 of this year, she gave birth to six beautiful, healthy cubs. The latest that I have heard about Queenie was that she was faithfully nursing four promising cubs, while a bull-terrier bitch was roaring tho other two. Then Queenio was extolled as the distinguished lioness supposed to have established a record by giving birth to tho largest litter of lions ever born in captivity. So in the world of lions, as in the human world, there are wonderful changes of fortune.

Palmorston's brake and Ours,

A few days ago my friend Mr. Castlo, tho secretary or the Wellington Zoological Society, was in Palmerston North, and ho naturally gravitated to tho Square, where much beautifying work has recently been, done. There, among beautiful shrubs and grassy beds, is a glistening pond of crystalline water, on which swans glide and choico ducks paddlo in the . heart of a uniquelyplanned business thoroughfare. One of tho drakes on the. pond attracted Mr. Castings attention, 1 and moved my good friond to remark that that drako was in .more perfect plumage- : than that of any mandarin drako.that we have in Newtown Park. . When afterwards I met Mr. Castlo lie naturally asked, Why is this, or how is it? And 1 presume the other observers have noticed that tho mandarin drakes in tho Newtown Zoo are not as glorious as were tho two that attracted much attention there last winter. Well, after comparing notes, our secretary and I have concluded that tho most beautiful drako that v,-o had in tho Zoo .last winter accidentally kill, ed himself or else died from some unknown causo a fow months ago. Ono of our drakes will soon again challenge attention. But most of the mandarin drakes that aro'now in our Zoo have been there only a few weeks, not long enough to' acclimatise thom and adorn them with tho splendour that may bo expected next year, if not this. The drako that is now perfecting his splendid raiment is beautiful, hut is, I think, tho ono that was shipwrecked before ho was brought to our Zoo, and suffered slight but irreparable damage.

Distinguished Visitors'at the Zoo. Tho Hon. F. M. B. Fisher (Minister of Marine), Mr. Geo., Frost (chairman of tho Reserves Committee of tho Wellington City 'Council), Professor E. Princo (Canadian Commissioner '. of Fisheries), Mr. L. F. Ayson (Chief Inspector of New Zealand Fisheries), Mr. Geo. Allport (Secretary of Marine), and Mr. J. M. Morico (Wellington Assistant City Engineer) have, wo are told, visited tho Wellington Zoo. Now as 1 havo great faith in all those gentlemen when they direct their attention to providing an interesting, attractive, educational aquarium in Newtown Park, and as Wellington now has a Reserves Committee and a Mayor and council taking a rational interest in the Zoo; and as citizens—in fact I may say the people of the Dominion—seem agreed to help to improve the Zoo and increase its usefulness, I think that we may hope for tho speedy establishment of an aquarium in New Zealand, that, though at first small, shall in the future bo of fascinating and ever-increasing interest.

Thanks to Auckland. Shall Auckland be thanked for declining tho offer of tho, aquarium ? Yes. Tho sensible citizens of Auckland see that the people of New Zealand should not try to form several littlo mock Zoos in different parts of tho Dominion.' Wo can only afford to maintain one respectable Zoo, and that must bo of only moderate dimensions. If deemed necessary later, for educational purposes, a collections of animals might bo sent from placo to place to several parts of Now Zealand; but meanwhile the,people of tho wholo Dominion should all help to establish a central Zoo in Wellington, which is i within as easy a distance as can be arranged for tp meet at tho minimum of cost tho convenience of as many of our people as desire to give to their children anything like an up-to-date system of education. The Wellington Zoo is open free to all children up to fifteen years of age. Tho Auckland City Council, the A\ioklaud Press Especially the illustrated section of it), and tho business people of tho Auckland district have generally evinced a kindly feeling and admirable common sense in dealing with tho Wellington Zoo, and I therefore think that tho people of Auckland deserve hearty thanks. Can Bears Reason? Recently I went into the Zoo' and saw Brimoline, the brown bear, looking for something to eat, while peanuts were lying in an enclosure between Jier cage and me. With my stick I managed to push one of tho nuts up to within her reach. The sagacious animal looked at the nut, . seemed to measure tho distance between it and herself, and then tried, with tho paw she thought most suitable, to reach it. When she had failed she looked a look that told mo that she was fully convinced that tho nut ' was beyond her reach. I pointed to it, and advised her to make another effort, but she was obdurate. Then I pointed again, and after doing so drew ray stick so as to show that I though that she could, by stretching hor other paw, get tho desired object. She watched, with an intelligent look, and as soon as I had shown what I thought she should do, sho quietly turned ovor, mado tho suggested effort, and succeeded. I do not preach theories) in these notes. I will not hero mark any , distinction between instinct and reason: but I report an incident that thrilled mo with intense interest. A bear that has been educated as Brunoline was is a wonderful creature. What Would the Rev. Mr. Flanagan Say? Soon after my Teferenco to Dr. Adenoy's sermon appeared, I was asked i to accompany several reverend gentlemen, in a company, through tho Zoo. 1 knew that to make much impression with our littlo Zoo upon a venerable Englishman who knows London well, I must emphasise strongly somo of the strong points of our establishment. I therefore challenged attention to the head of "King Dick" and claimed that it was the most handsome lion's head in captivity; descanted on the antiquity and

aristocracy of tho tuatara; remarked on tho unique and wonderful wingless kiwi, and mado the best that I could of every object that seemed worthy of magnification, but Mr. Flanagan is an Englishman, a grand old English gentleman, of a typo of go«tk-man for which I always have had boundless admiration. As we- were. wandering through tho Zoo some person said: "Mr. Flanagan, are you interested?" "Oh, yes," ho said, "life is always interesting." Later, no quietly suggested to one of my friends that there must bo somo American blood in my veins, and that ho seemed to hear something Yankee in me. Well, although I am a full-blooded Coniishman, 'I am never ashamed to be associated with Americans. But what wctild Mr. Flanagan say of this? I liavo just received the report of tho council and auditors of tho Zoological Society of London, and I notice in the list of animals bred in the London Zoological Gardens in the year 1913, "ono Fahr," and this note: "Died next day." I showed two young Thar, wo call them, that had been born this year ill the. Wellington Zoo, and were, as they are, as hardy, and j apparently as happy, as though free on tho heights of tho Himalayan Mountains: No birth of lions is noticeable in the report. Our young lions challenge comparison with any of_ their age in tho world. Young George is recovering splendidly. The birth of one monkey is reported. Wo have three beautiful young monkeys growing in our Zoo —two bonnet monkeys and one common macaquo.' But J mustn't boast, I hate boasting! But to keen np any flame of admiration, for Wellington's local institutions, J. liavo to keep oil blowing, and be gUd to learn from time to timo that it is not without result. . •>