ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN, BUDA-PESTH: DIRECTOR, M. CARL SERAK
This Garden is one of the youngest in Europe. The first impulse was
given to the foundation by the naturalists, Joseph Gerenday and August
Rubinyi, who had returned from a visit to Vienna in 1856. In 1861 a
committee was formed, shares were issued, and plans were prepared.
Joseph Gerenday had brought together seventy kinds of animals, and it
was found difficult to house them. In 1865 the Society was at last
founded, and in 1866 the town sold the company a site, but made them
pay a ground-rent for it.
The first President was Johann Xantus. On August 9, 1866, the Garden
was solemnly opened to the public. Xantus resigned shortly after, and a
Viennese zoologist, Fitzinger, was appointed; he in his turn resigned,
and for a time the Garden did not prosper, perhaps owing partly to the
many alterations in the management. Its position was so insecure that
new and more sensible methods had to be thought out. Valuable aid was
given in 1872 by Dr. Szabo, who had always been a zealous supporter
of the Garden. He suggested that the company should be turned into
a Society of Acclimatization, and that it should include foreign
domestic animals as well as cultivated plants. This idea found much
approbation, and the Society took up Szabo’s suggestion. M. Carl Serak
was chosen Director of the Garden, and he has managed the affairs of
the Garden to this day.
Until the year 1873 everything went downhill. To-day the Society
possesses a capital of 180,000 gulden, and stands on a level with
other similar institutions in Europe. The success of the Garden has
been furthered by the help of the Archduke Joseph, for whose gracious
support the Garden will always be greatly indebted. Mention should also
be made of Andor Semsey, who gave the Society its beautiful aviary. Not
only the Government, but also the town, help by continual subscriptions
to further the interests of the Garden.
* * * * *
After a laborious railway journey from Moscow of three days and three
nights, including fourteen hours of weary waiting at wayside stations
where not a soul speaks any language but Russian, I arrived at length
at Buda-Pesth.
The town possesses a shady wood of birch, horse-chestnut, and elm
trees. After paying sixty filler for entrance, my camera was taken from
me, which was all the more to be regretted, as it was such a beautiful
day for taking photographs. The first house opposite the entrance is a
very small, very stuffy, and very dark little monkey house, followed
by a bird aviary, which was just the opposite--very large, very airy,
and very light. Goat sheds follow, and then a good collection of deer,
including wapiti (always well represented in Continental Gardens),
Borneo deer (_C. hippelaphus_), and others. Below a ruined castle,
inhabited by ravens and owls, are two cages containing striped and
other hyænas. These animals always have sore places on their heads,
caused by rubbing against the bars of their cage. We now come to a
beautiful pair of Somali ostriches in full feather, and close by a
large duck-pond--which, by the way, contained very few ducks--there
was a novel flying-aviary for gulls and peacocks--rather an odd
assortment, I thought. A large fishing-net was stretched from the top
of a huge pole in the centre of the cage to the iron railings. The
lion house, which came next, had in it no less than six lions. There
was a beautiful ant bear, with its curious snout and long thin tongue,
in a cage by himself, and opposite was a large water-tank containing
a hippopotamus, and on one side of him were four nylgai, and on the
other two _leucoryx_ antelopes and a zebra. Next came a great number of
domestic-fowl pens, followed by a really fine collection of dogs from
all parts of the world--Russian wolf-hounds, Irish setters, Chinese
chows, pointers, pugs, fox-terriers, great danes, Newfoundland, etc.
Passing a pair of Indian elephants, we come to goats, yaks with calves,
camels, llamas, zebus, and the inevitable pair of American bisons. A
number of bears, including a pretty couple of baby brown bears, brings
a good collection to an end. During the heat of the day the hose was
turned on to several animals, which seemed to enjoy it thoroughly, with
the exception, oddly enough, of the polars, which became very angry and
fought savagely with one another.
There were crowds of people, and a band played during the afternoon.
Bread was sold for feeding the animals, and a good many people bought
some; but I do not like to see the poor brutes teased and tantalized
with it. I could not help laughing when I saw a great fat man holding
a piece of bread on the end of his umbrella far out of reach, as he
thought, of a large brown bear. Time after time the animal tried to
reach the tempting morsel without success. But, with a last prodigious
effort, it grabbed both bread and umbrella with its powerful claws, and
tore the latter to shreds.
In the centre of the Garden a side-show was given, consisting of
singing and dancing by some natives of Africa, who called themselves
‘Atogos’; but I think from their absurdly silly dancing and quaint
hair-dressing they were Dahomeyans.