ZOO NOTES

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2391, 22 February 1915, Page 7

ZOO NOTES

(By Mr, John Orewes, Member of the I Council of tlia .Wellington Zoologi- i cal Society.) It is gratifying to notice' that .my j tandom jottings strike attention; wherever The Dominion is circulated, ■ and that i thoy introduce mo to readers that take i an intelligent, interest in natural his--1 , tory. , Recently' I happehed to meet at ' tho Zoo a Palmerston gentleman who ; by the flattering* emarka he was inak- ; ing on some 2kK. Notes that he liad : read in The Doinraon compelled me to .Eeveal my that the shock my unknown - fHend'' was unwittingly giv--1 'in.?'to my modesty might be stayed. A very pleasant stroll together through the grounds of the Zoo resulted, and I i believe 4.hat- we enjoyed: each, othet's 1 company thoroughly. Later I received from; the. Lower Hutt a welcome postcard. Several of my Wellington, friends, including one whom I had not seen, for a long 1 time, have kindly spoken, eulogistically of my reoent and now I have. before me a, very interesting letter which a'ifew days ago I received from : a resident in the Upper Hui ; district. That, Hybrid Hen, Xhe writer of the letter from the Upper Hutt' district touches! my note on the hybrid hen supposed to have been, the product of a cross between a weka' and a domestic fowl. lam , sorry that I am not allowed to publish the letter, for the Writer of it bears " a weE-luiown name, has been in New Zealand einse 1860,' takes a great in- ■ terest'in all my. "Zoo Notes," is a zbalons student of Nature, and enjoys the'benefit of information received from ■ a respected father, who had good opportunities for the study of the ques- : tion dealt . with in the letter, informa- -. tion supplemented and Confirmed by other well-informed and competent ob- ' servers. _ : .'' Now, viewing this- letter in conaeotion with one that Mr. Langridge has received from the gentleman who pre-: sented the 1 hen to the Zoo,yl- am.con- ! vinced that in several instances hybrids have' been produced between the weka .and domestic fowls,, and that it is probable that the remarkable hen to wluch I have directed attention, is an interesting bird. Mr. Langridge tells me, that the hen; is laying, and that the gentleman who preeent-ed her told him; that she is a good sitter. , :.

Our New Leopardess. 'Alterations have been made in the our handsome young leopard's, domicile, and this week there should-.he seen'.in.one of the adjoining cages a'fiplendid exhibit worthy of the company, to which- she: will be introduced.: The leopard that was brought from Australia, and has'been with us ever sinoe he was a- cub, .is- an Indian leopard, but was born in a'.'zoo. The foeaiitiful.leopardess that has just be?n brought is an African, we are' told, and was forest-born. She has, however, been thoroughly tamed and trained, has had two lots of young, and has*proved herself an. excellent mother. She should be a new star exhibit. In form and colour and temper she is admirable.' ' The City Council had to wait long before they could get such: an animah but I think that every per--Bon will admit that she was well worth waiting fori.

Another Fulfilment. A' few weeks ago 1 foretold that suitable accommodation would soon be provided for the tuatara.-1 am glad to be able, to say the, wonderful reptile is now worthily, represented in the Zoo, and :is suitably acoommodated. The tuatara is not ' very beautiful, but is ■Very wonderful, and though the strange animal should nab be compelled to live always in. puhliciiy, students and . other visitors should be able to gain access to the interesting marvel at all The tuatara can <tf its. own choice ap-pear-publicly at, any time' and .Mr. Langndge w& show him when-asked to at times when the most:- ./aristocratic member of the Zoo would prefer retirement. Is it Wqrth 3d.? . "Is it worth 3d. to see the Zoo?" Some person a5ked....... . .. "Why, yes/' answered another petton. "The peacock, when on a fine, calm day he spreads himself,-gives'an exhibition that would be worth a shilling to see." "Aye," said a person standing by, •'"and tie tooth-billed pigeon is such a iTarity that to see it wonld be worth more thana shilling to any person interested in ornithology." But what else is there to be seen m the Zoo? Well, from a rough'count I say .1 think that; when have. seen the peacock'and the pigeon there'are more than nine hundred other interesting animals. tip - be seen; that _ is: if we include "the small birds and the fish in our estimate; and some of these are among the most'beautiful and interesting' ; of the Zoo exhibits. One of Wellington's leading doctors slipped into the Zoological Garden, a few days ago, and was so surprised to see how- the Zoo had'grown ai}d improved that he said: "I must devote a.whole afternoon to a visit to this place soon." Yes,'gentlemen that have ,money, and brains, and have travelled, find when, they get into the grounds of our Zoo that .we have some exhibits there.-that compare ?ery favourably with some of the best to be found in any other part of the world. .