BITTEN BY A BEAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 182, 22 April 1918, Page 4

BITTEN BY A BEAR

BOY'S EXPERIENCE AT THE ZOO,

A particularly unpleasant experience was the lot of :i boy aged twelvo yews at the "Zoo" on Saturday afternoon. J. lie bov, George Kensington, of PalmersLon North, is visiting Wellington in . company with his father. While sight-seeing ut the "Zoo" tho lad poked Ins right band through tho bars into the backbear's cage. The uiinial seized hold ot the hand with his mouth and badly chewed it beforo tho boy was ablo to release himself. ' ~. The ho\- was taken to the Hospital, where, it was found necessary to amputate some of tho fingers. Superintendent Langridge, of tho "Zoo," in speaking to a Dominion reporter of the incident, said that the bear was not of 11 fierce disposition, and would take nuts out of a persons hands without any dangor to the donor, rho trouble was that small boys and others often teased the bear. The. animal had uo great sense of discrimination, and he was apt to mistake kindness as the lorerunuer of abuse and bite the hand that was feeding him. It. was therefore very ill-advised to attempt to feed or stroke him, much less to tease him. Barriers had been erected in front of the bears cages, but these an over-curious public persisted in breaking down. Even when the 'barriers were standing sightseers I were wont to get in between them and the cages.