An Old Mermaid.

Manawatu Herald, 14 March 1896, Page 2

An Old Mermaid.

-» . Ao interesting addition has jusfc b^feii made to tho London Zoological Society's vivarium in tbe shape of a young nnmtefc. It was captured io a river n?ar Para, Brazil, and reach -*-d the gardens on Jan. 4. Since its a it! vol it has made itself q-.iite at home in one of the tanks'in the Reptile House. There have previously been only four specinnns of tha mantaee exhibited in the menagerie, v'f these tbe first was acquired in 1875, biit only lived' a month. Tin soond, however, which ar.ived in 1889, lived for a considerable lime; Hit* other Iwo (a mother audyonrig), which were sent from Jamaica iasS year, died almost as soon as thoy reached the gardens. It is supposed that the manatee was the mermaid of the ancients, which we all know has been depicted with a hnman female's head and body and fi-h's tail. At a distance it might be possible to mistake the upper part of one of these animals fjr a lady standing in the water, but on closer examination it would be difficult to point out where the similarity comes in. On account of tho trade carried on in its skin and oil thn manatee is becoming very scarce, and p.obably not many years henca we shall hear that it has fallowed in the footstep? of Steiler's sea-cow — a close n lation —which formerly was abundant in Behring Sea, hut was soon exterminated by man. Tho manatee reeds tntirely upon vegetables.