XMAS AT THE ZOO

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 252, 14 January 1928, Page 5

XMAS AT THE ZOO

“MEALS AS USUAL” NO DISAPPOINTMENT REGISTERED The only establishment in Sydney where Christmas was not celebrated with the orthodox Christmas dinner, has been found. At the aod “The Guardian” found one miserable wretch who had to lx* content with a meagre two-hundredweight of oaten and lucerne hay. and another poor body who had merely a bag of potatoes. 20 dozen lettuce, and 30 dozen carrots for the Christmas meal. The gathering, which had subsisted on potatoes, lettuce and carrots, disported themselves in the sunshine, and romped and danced to the joy of hundreds of visitors. Even the unfortunate who had nothing but oaten and lucerne hay found it a pleasure to play “bears” with small boys on his back. Maybe it was the fact that so many people came to see them that made the elephant and the monkeys at Taronga Park happy. Didn’t Mean to be Cruel Zoo officials explained yesterday that they really did not mean to be hard on their charges at Christmas time. In fact, they thought that they had been remarkably generous—considering that Christmas Day had cost them £l. p > in meals for the animals. This fact was borne out after “The Guardian” - had paid a visit to the snake-house. Here is found one gorged creature, with so little sense of decency as to sprawl itself on the floor of the cage and to show the world what a beast it had made of itself at Christmas. That officials explained, came of giving the rattlesnake too much rich food, in the form of dead rats and mice.