THE PRINCES INDIAN COLLECTION.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 87, 1 August 1876, Page 3

THE PRINCES INDIAN COLLECTION.

animals, including the two- * J'l'ihUcso elephants, brought nvet ''t'iiuri! of Wales from India, have tn the Zoological t»ard«ns in '•"'Stf i>f two mahouts ami 6wi» ' tlio gardens, sjnt down to ! l "" t 'll to assist in bringing the f'H' hy r< uul. The animals have lflw, | in and near a large tent close :T" til trance to the gardens, and .' ,l !'- v ;ln ' arranged and provision "keep the public from getting too Mujui they will be exhibited in ! t 3eaaon - Altogether there '|'t LoH animals and birds, among ai 'o four elephants, three tigers,

I two lenjxitiils, one bear, oneclieetah, set en ; Mack bucks, a musk-cat, a number of goats, antelopes, and two Hraiuiii cows. Knterirvg the tant from the path near the i'-ate, the first tiling that arrets attention is the tine pair of vonng tigers, I " ,n ' and " Minnie." Like moat ot the collection, they are very tame, having been brought into orderly behaviottr_ by the natives ami the sailors during the voyage. They promise to be very tine animate when full grown. Near tliem is a beautiful voting tiger, seven months old from ?*->panl, whose mother was killed E>y the Prince ; the young tiger fought ffespcrately with the natives sent to secure it a Ctrl' the its dam. At present it is most ferocious anil sa\age, and keeps snarling and beating himself against the bars of the cage. It has been named appropriately " ixeii.' A beautiful creature is *' Jack," a leopard, aged about five months, and who allows himself to be stroked like a cat, though a stranger is not advised to attempt the experiment. In contrast to the amiability of this creature is the ferocitj" of the cheetah " P'hool Jharri," who was tamed by natives for htt.nt.iitg dear—the animal being prevented by a leather muzzle from mangling the chase—-but whose temper appears to have broken out again, and who dtsplajs his ugly temper almost every time his keeper goes near him, snarling and snapping. Above, in a smalt cage, is the celebrated wild cat. He passes his time in walking and turning round in his small cage and glaring with his large green eyes at the Visitors. On the other side of the tent are the young bear "Georgie' and the ranis and goats. The former, who a perfect pet with the sailors of the Serapis, was, like " Vixen," deprived of its dam by the Prince's ritle. The great attraction of the collection will be the four elephants. Two of these, " Kustom " and " Omar." are unite babies being only a few months old, but their docility is really marvellous. They were employed on board the Osborne in hauling up ash-buckets, and when the vessel steamed into Portsmouth harbor one was standing on each paddle-box. They have cottars* round their necks with their names upon them. and this is a necessary precaution. for they are so much alike that without them their identity would soon be tost. They have already found out that visitors often come provided with cakes and biscuits, and they keep throwing up their trunks for contributions directly any one stops near them. The large Nepaulese elephants which have also arrived are much older and larger. They are wonderfully docile, and have been exceedingly well trained by the natives. Their ai»ipearanue, and that of the keepers and mahouts who brought them up from Portsmouth, excited great interest along the road, and some astonishment in the smaller villages. Serapis and Taurus, two small Brahintn bulls, tit to pull a chariot, a number of antelopes with bells round their necks, which can be used for a simitar purpose ; besides pigeons and pheasants, and numbers of rare and beautiful birds, form the remainder of the collection, which will soon be added to those already in the gardens. All the animals are in excellent health, and feed well.