[Illustration: NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL PARK]
Administration Bldg., 8 D 4
Alaskan House, 32 H 3
Alligator Pool, 36 H 4
Antelope House, 50 J 3
Bear Dens, 37 H 5
Beaver Pond, 29 G 5
Biological Laboratory, 28 A G 4
Bird House, Aquatic, 5 D 2
Bird House, Large, 7 D 3
Bison, 51 J 5
Boat House, 54 M 6
Buffalo Herd, 52 J 6
Burrowing Animals, 42 I 3
Cage, Flying, 4 C 3
Camel House, 39 I 2
Deer House, Small, 49 I 2
Deer, American, 30 H 2
Deer, Asiatic, 1 C-D 2
Deer, Axis and Sika, 2 C 2
Deer, Fallow, 53 K 4
Deer, Red, 10 D 2
Duck Aviary, 3 C 3
Eagle and Vulture Aviary, 11 E 2
Elephant House, 20 F 3
Elk Range, 21 G 2
Feed Barn, 27 G 3
Flying Cage, 4 C 3
Fountain, Rockefeller, 13 D 4
Fountains, Drinking, D 2, H 2, M 7
Fox Dens, 23 G 2
Lion House, 15 E 3
Llama House, 38 I 2
Lydig Arch, 47 I 5
Mammal House, Small, 35 H 3
Mountain Sheep Hill, 44 I 4
Musk Oxen, 48 I 2
Nursery, 18 E 9
Ostrich House, 43 I 3
Otter Pools, 31 H 2
Pavilion, Shelter, 26 G 3
Pheasant Aviary, 40 I 2
Polar Bear Den, 37 H 5
Prairie Dogs, 41 I 3
Primate House, 17 E 4
Puma and Lynx House, 33 A H 3
Raccoon’s Tree, 44 A I 5
Reptile House, 34 H 4
Restaurant, 46 I 5
Riding Animals, 6 D 3
Rocking Stone, 45 I 5
Sea Lion Pool, 12 D 3
Service Bldg., 28 H 4
Soda Fount’s. *D 2, G 3, H 4
Subway Station O 6
Toilets, W. M., C 3, E 3, G 3, I 5, L 6, M 8
Tortoise Yards H 4
Totem Pole, 32 H 3
Turkeys, Wild, 33 H 3
Wolf Dens, 22 G 3
Yak House, 55 K 4
Zebra Houses, 14 E 2
[Illustration: PENINSULA BEAR: IVAN]
POPULAR OFFICIAL GUIDE
TO THE
New York Zoological Park
By WILLIAM T. HORNADAY, Sc.D.
Director and General Curator
ILLUSTRATED BY ELWIN R. SANBORN
[Illustration: New York Zoological Society]
GORILLA EDITION
WITH MAPS, PLANS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
THIRTEENTH EDITION—SEPTEMBER, 1915
PUBLISHED BY THE
NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
11 WALL STREET, NEW YORK
Only Authorized Guide Price 25 Cents
COMPLETELY REVISED AND EXTENDED
1st Edition, October, 1899— 5000
2d “ May, 1900— 5000
3d “ December, 1900— 5000
4th “ October, 1901— 3000
5th “ June, 1902— 10000
6th “ “ 1903— 10000
7th “ “ 1904— 15000
8th “ “ 1906— 7000
9th “ “ 1907— 30000
10th “ October, 1909— 30000
11th “ June, 1911— 30000
12th “ “ 1913— 40000
13th “ September, 1915— 20000
Copyright, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1909, 1911,
1913 and 1915.
NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
PREFACE
The publication of this revised and extended edition of the Guide to the
Zoological Park is necessary in order to bring our most important
collections down to date. With the completion of the Zebra House and
Eagle Aviary, we are now able to offer a Guide Book to the Zoological
Park as practically finished.
The visitor is not to understand, however, that with the completion of
the features named above nothing more will remain to be done. An
institution of this kind never reaches a state of absolute completion,
with no further possibilities of improvement. But the building of
boundary walls, and the rebuilding of temporary entrances, are matters
of small moment in comparison with the completion of a grand series of
installations for animals, and buildings for public comfort.
Few indeed are the persons who know, or who ever will know, the extent
to which both the general design and the details of the Zoological Park
have been originated, and hammered out of the raw materials. From the
inception of the undertaking, the work of development has involved a
continuous struggle to meet new conditions. Although precedents and
models for things to be done were sought far and wide, in all save a
very few instances, our needs were so peculiar, and so different from
those of other zoological gardens and parks, we have found really very
little that we could copy. The abundant-room idea on which the
Zoological Park was founded, and our desire for the full utilization of
the works of nature, have from the first taxed the creative faculties of
the Society to the utmost.
It has been gratifying to find in other zoological establishments a
number of features which we could utilize here, thereby saving ourselves
something in the eternal grind of invention and experiment, and we have
gladly made prominent mention of such cases.
While it is possible to complete the equipment of animal installations
for a Zoological Park, and fill them with fine collections, the demand
for more animals is continuous. Our wild creatures are not immortal;
and, like human beings, they live out their allotted lives and pass
away. The great majority do not perpetuate themselves in captivity, and
the depleted ranks must be filled by new gifts and new purchases. Gifts
of specimens, and funds for purchases, must constantly be forthcoming.
In the acquisition of certain representative species of great variety
but particular desirability, the Society has been much favored by its
friends, both at home and abroad. Frequently it happens that the
greatest zoological rarities are obtainable only through the good will
and tireless industry of friends who travel into the most remote and
inaccessible regions of the earth. It is to such sources that we owe our
musk-ox herd, walrus, mountain goat herd, spectacled bear and many other
species.
The Executive Committee makes grateful acknowledgment of the loyal and
generous support it has constantly received from the Board of Managers,
the members of the Zoological Society, and from the Government of the
City of New York. Thanks to a judicious union of these forces, the
development of the Zoological Park has gone forward rapidly and
satisfactorily. Although the actual period of construction has been
remarkably short for so vast an undertaking, everything constructed is
of the most permanent character. It is only just to note the fact that
while the Zoological Park is an institution of national interest and
importance, and free to all the world, with the exception of a few gifts
of animals it has been created and is maintained wholly by the citizens
of the City of New York. The State has contributed nothing.
The Executive Committee.
JUNE 1, 1913.
CONTENTS.
Page
Statistics of the Zoological Park 10
Officers of the Society 11
Origin 13
Means of Access 16
Admission 17
Physical Aspect of the Grounds 21
MAMMALS.
Bison Ranges 26
Mountain Sheep Hill 29
Antelope House 35
Small-Deer House 42
Miscellaneous Mammals 49
White Mountain Goat 50
Prong-Horned Antelope 51
Camel House 53
Llama House 55
North American Deer 57
Zebra House 63
Asiatic and European Deer 66
Lion House 71
Sea-Lions 78
Primate House 80
Elephant House 89
Wolf Dens 98
Fox Dens 101
Otter Pools 103
Small-Mammal House 104
Puma and Lynx House 115
Burrowing Mammals 116
Prairie-Dog Village 118
Bear Dens 119
Raccoon Tree 128
Beaver Pond 128
Economic Rodent-Reptile Collection 130
BIRDS.
Goose Aviary 133
Flying Cage 135
Aquatic-Bird House 141
Eagle and Vulture Aviary 143
Wild Turkey Enclosure 146
Large-Bird House 146
Wild Fowl Pond 153
Pheasant and Pigeon Aviary 155
Ostrich House 162
Cranes 167
REPTILES.
Reptile House 171
Turtles and Tortoises 172
Crocodiles and Alligators 175
Lizards 177
Serpents 179
Batrachians or Amphibians 182
INSECTS.
Insect Collection 185
Index 188
MAPS.
Map of Zoological Park Second page of cover
Sketch Map, New York 14
Sketch Map, Vicinity of Park 16
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Peninsula Bear: Ivan _Frontispiece_
Baird Court and Concourse 12
The Boat House 18
Boating on Bronx Lake 20
White-Tailed Deer 24
American Bison 26
European Bison 27
White-Fronted Musk-Ox 30
Big-Horn Mountain Sheep 30
Mouflon 32
Arcal Sheep 32
Himalayan Tahr 32
Burrhel 32
Chamois 33
Markhor 33
Aoudad 33
Persian Wild Goat 33
Nilgai: Indian Antelope 36
Nubian Giraffes 38
Beatrix Antelope 40
Blessbok 40
Leucoryx Antelope 41
White-Tailed Gnu 41
Eland 42
Sable Antelope 43
Redunca Antelope 44
Sasin Antelope 46
Great Gray Kangaroo 48
Rocky Mountain Goat 49
American Prong-Horned Antelope 52
Bactrian Camel 53
Alpaca 54
Vicunia 55
American Elk 58
European Red Deer 58
Development of Antlers 61
Grant Zebra 64
Prjevalsky Horses 65
Axis Deer 68
Burmese Deer 69
Jaguar 72
Cheetah 73
Barbary Lion 74
Snow Leopard 75
Atlantic Walrus 79
Chimpanzee, “Baldy” 82
Orang-Utan 84
Humboldt Woolly Monkey 85
Japanese Red-Faced Monkey 88
Pig-Tailed Macaque 88
Slow Lemur 89
Siamang 89
Elephant House 90
Indian Elephant 92
African Elephants 93
African Two-Horned Rhinoceros 94
Indian Rhinoceros 95
Pygmy Hippopotami 96
Timber Wolf 99
Coyote: Prairie Wolf 100
Swift or Kit Fox 102
Red Fox 103
Ocelot 106
Common Genet 107
African Porcupine 111
Tamandua 112
Great Ant-Eater 113
Six-Banded Armadillo 114
Two-Toed Sloth 115
Polar Bear Den 120
Polar Bear “Silver King” 122
Syrian Bear 123
Spectacled Bear 126
European Brown Bear 127
Brazilian Tree Porcupine 131
Mute and Trumpeter Swans 133
Cereopsis Geese 136
White-Faced Glossy Ibis 137
Roseate Spoonbill 137
Brown and White Pelicans 140
Great Horned Owl 142
Spectacled Owl 142
Eared Vulture 143
Lammergeyer 143
King Vulture 145
Black Vulture 145
Harpy Eagle 145
Griffon Vulture 145
Wild Turkey 147
Seriema 148
Secretary Bird 148
Great Crowned Pigeon 150
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo 151
Toco Toucan 151
Ducks Feeding 154
Pheasant Aviary 156
Manchurian Eared Pheasant 158
Indian Peacock 159
North African Ostrich 163
Rhea 164
Cassowary 164
Emeus 165
Little Brown Crane 167
Demoiselle Crane 167
Asiatic White Crane 168
Paradise Crane 168
Whooping Crane 169
Crowned Crane 169
Adjutant 169
Jabiru 169
Mastigure 170
Horned Rattlesnake 170
Hog-Nosed Snake 170
Gecko 170
Tree Frog 170
Giant Tortoise 173
Alligator Pool 176
Venezuelan Boa 177
Rhinoceros Viper 180
Cobra-De-Capello 181
Metamorphosis of the Leopard Frog 184
Giant Centipede 186
Tarantula 187
Red-Winged Locust 187
Hercules Beetle 187
STATISTICS OF THE ZOOLOGICAL PARK.
January, 1915.
Final plan of the Zoological Park approved by Park Board, November
22, 1897.
Zoological Society assumed control of grounds, July 1, 1898.
First building begun, August 11, 1898.
Park formally opened to the public, November 9, 1899.
Administration and Service Buildings 2
Large Animal Buildings (all heated) 14
Small Animal Buildings (4 heated) 10
Large Groups of Outdoor Dens, Aviaries and Corrals 13
Animal Storehouses, for winter use 3
Restaurants 2
Public-Comfort Buildings 6
Entrances 7
Area of Park Land and Water 264 acres
Area of Water 30 acres
Walks and Roads 7.78 miles
Fences 10.55 miles
LIVE ANIMALS IN THE COLLECTIONS.
January, 1915.
Mammals 204 species, 586 specimens.
Birds 811 “ 2,753 “
Reptiles 164 “ 1,014 “
Total 1,179 4,353
Attendance of visitors in 1914 2,020,433
Total attendance of visitors from 1899 to Jan., 1915 19,325,590
NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
_President_,
HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN.
MADISON GRANT, _Secretary_, 11 Wall Street.
PERCY R. PYNE, _Treasurer_, 30 Pine Street.
Executive Committee
MADISON GRANT, _Chairman_.
PERCY R. PYNE,
WATSON B. DICKERMAN,
SAMUEL THORNE,
WM. PIERSON HAMILTON,
WILLIAM WHITE NILES,
FRANK K. STURGIS,
LISPENARD STEWART,
HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN, _ex-officio_.
General Officers
WILLIAM T. HORNADAY, _Director_
H. J. SHORTER _Assistant Secretary_
R. L. CERERO _Assistant to Treasurer_
DR. GEORGE S. HUNTINGTON _Prosector_
C. GRANT LA FARGE _Architect_
H. DeB. PARSONS _Consulting Engineer_
Officers of the Zoological Park.
WILLIAM T. HORNADAY, Sc.D.
_Director and General Curator._
H. R. MITCHELL _Chief Clerk and Disbursing Officer_
R. L. DITMARS _Curator of Reptiles, Asst. Curator
of Mammals_
C. WILLIAM BEEBE _Curator of Birds_
LEE S. CRANDALL _Assistant Curator of Birds_
W. REID BLAIR, D.V.S. _Veterinarian_
H. W. MERKEL _Chief Forester and Constructor_
ELWIN R. SANBORN _Editor and Photographer_
GEORGE M. BEERBOWER _Civil Engineer_
WILLIAM MITCHELL _Cashier_
[Illustration: ITALIAN GARDEN, BAIRD COURT,
The structure on the right is the Large Bird-House, and in the
distance, the Lion House.]
GENERAL STATUS
OF THE ZOOLOGICAL PARK.
Origin.—The New York Zoological Park originated with the New York
Zoological Society, a scientific body incorporated in 1895, under a
special charter granted by the Legislature of the State of New York. The
declared objects of the Society are three in number—“A public Zoological
Park; the preservation of our native animals; the promotion of zoology.”
The Society has enrolled among its various classes over 2,000 members.
Henry Fairfield Osborn is the President of the Society. The affairs of
the Society are managed by a Board of Managers of thirty-six persons,
which meets three times each year. The planning and general development
of the Zoological Society is in the hands of an Executive Committee of
eight members, as follows: Madison Grant, Chairman; Percy R. Pyne,
Samuel Thorne, William White Niles, Watson B. Dickerman, Wm. Pierson
Hamilton, Frank K. Sturgis, Lispenard Stewart and Henry Fairfield
Osborn, _ex-officio_. Madison Grant, the Chairman of the Executive
Committee, is also Secretary of the Society, and his office is at No. 11
Wall Street. Dr. William T. Hornaday is the Director and General Curator
of the Zoological Park, and his office is now located in the
Administration Building on Baird Court. The address is 185th Street and
Southern Boulevard. The Society assumed control of the grounds on July
1, 1898, and began the first excavation, for the Bird House, on August
11th. The Park Department began work, on the Wild-Fowl Pond, on August
29, 1898.
Sources of Income.—The funds devoted to the development of the
Zoological Park have been derived from the following sources:
1. From the Zoological Society, obtained by subscriptions from private
citizens—funds for plans, for the erection of buildings, aviaries, dens
and other accommodations for animals; and for the purchase of animals.
2. From the City of New York—by vote of the Board of Estimate and
Apportionment—funds for the construction of walks, roads, sewers and
drainage, water supply, public comfort buildings, entrances, grading,
excavating of large ponds and lakes, annual maintenance, and also for
animal buildings.
[Illustration: SKETCH MAP SHOWING LOCATION OF ZOOLOGICAL PARK.]
The Zoological Society has expended, of its own funds, for plans,
construction and live animals, over $641,000. This sum has been derived
from its special subscription fund, and from the annual dues and fees of
its members.
Privileges.—Because of the fact that the Zoological Society has
undertaken to furnish all the animals for the Zoological Park, the City
of New York has agreed that all the revenue-producing privileges of the
Park shall be controlled by the Society. _All net profits_ derived from
the restaurants, boats, refreshments, riding animals, the sale of
photographs, books, etc., and all admission fees, are expended by the
Society _in the purchase of animals for the Park_. It is well that
visitors should know that _all net profits realized in the Park go
directly toward the increase of the animal collections_.
The Society maintains a supply of boats for hire, and riding animals of
various kinds for the amusement of children.
Location.—The Zoological Park is the geographical center of that portion
of Greater New York now known as Bronx County. From east to west it is
half-way between the Hudson River and Long Island Sound, and from north
to south it is midway between the mouth of the Harlem River and Mount
Vernon. From the City Hall to the Reptile House the distance is eleven
miles. The distance by automobile from the Central Park Plaza to the
Concourse Entrance is 9½ miles. The Northwest Entrance is about half a
mile from Fordham station on the Harlem Railway.
The area of the Park is 264 acres, divided as follows:
Land area west of the Boston Road 150 acres.
Land area east of the Boston Road 80 “
Bronx Lake 25 “
Lake Agassiz 5½ “
Aquatic Mammals’ Pond, Cope Lake and Beaver Pond 3½ “
Total area 264 acres.
[Illustration: SKETCH MAP OF THE ZOOLOGICAL PARK AND VICINITY.]
MEANS OF ACCESS.
Via the Subway, to the Boston Road Entrance.—The terminus of the eastern
branch of the Subway, at “180th St., Zoological Park,” lands visitors at
the southeastern entrances to the Zoological Park, at West Farms.
Visitors from points below 96th Street must be careful to board the
“Bronx Park” trains, and not the “Broadway” trains.
Routes for Automobiles or Carriages.—Via Central Park, Lenox Avenue,
Macomb’s Dam Bridge and Jerome Avenue or Grand Concourse to Pelham
Avenue, thence eastward to the Concourse Entrance, where motor cars and
carriages are admitted to the Park.
Via the Third Avenue Elevated.—The Third Avenue Elevated Railway has
been extended to Bedford Park, and visitors coming to the Zoological
Park on it or on the Harlem Railroad should alight at Fordham Station,
from which the northwest entrance is half a mile distant, due eastward,
on Pelham Avenue, via the Union Railway surface cars.
Surface Cars.—The Southern Boulevard and the Zoological Park Cars of the
Union Railway now run to both the Crotona (Southwest) Entrance and the
Fordham Entrance. The Crosstown cars of the same line intersect the
Southern Boulevard three blocks south of the Crotona Entrance.
ADMISSION.
Free Admission.—On all holidays, and on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Friday and Saturday, the Zoological Park is open free to the public.
Pay Admission.—On every Monday and Thursday, save when either of those
days falls on a holiday, all members of the Zoological Society who
surrender coupons from their membership tickets, and all other persons
holding tickets from the Society, will be admitted free. All other
persons seeking admission will be admitted on payment of twenty-five
cents for each adult, and fifteen cents for each child under twelve
years of age. Tickets are sold only at the entrance gates.
Holidays on Pay Days.—Whenever a legal holiday falls on a Monday or
Thursday, admission to the Park will be free on that day.
Hours for Opening and Closing.—From May 1st to November 1st the gates
will be opened at 9 A. M. daily, and closed half an hour before sunset.
From November 1st to May 1st the gates will open at 10 A. M.
Entrances, Walks, etc.—The portion of the Zoological Park situated west
of the Boston Road has been enclosed. Access to this area is provided by
six entrances, one situated at each corner—one on the Boston Road and
one at the bridge on Pelham Avenue. The latter is a carriage entrance
for visitors wishing to drive to the north end of Baird Court. From all
these entrances broad walks lead into the Park and through it, reaching
all the collections of animals now installed.
Carriage Roads.—The only wagon road which enters the central portion of
the Park now occupied by animals is the Service Road, which enters from
the Southern Boulevard, at 185th Street, and runs eastward, to the
Service Building, Reptile House, Bear Dens, and Rocking Stone
Restaurant.
_This road is for business purposes only_, and is not open for the
vehicles of visitors. It is utterly impossible to admit carriages to the
_center_ of the Park, save those of officers entering on business, and
_visitors must not ask for exceptions to this very necessary rule_.
Automobile and Carriage Entrance.—A fine public carriage road and
concourse, leading from Pelham Avenue Bridge and to the upper end of
Baird Court, was completed in 1908. This drive is open to carriages or
motors, daily, and it affords easy access to the most important group of
buildings. It is subject to the same regulations as all other entrances,
except that carriages and automobiles are admitted.
[Illustration: THE BOAT HOUSE, BRONX LAKE.]
The Boston Road, which runs through the Park from south to north, near
the western bank of the Bronx Lake, is open at all hours. It has
recently—and for the first time—been finely improved by the Park
Department for the Borough of the Bronx, and a drive through it affords
a fine view of the eastern side of the Buffalo Range, and the finest
portion of the heavy forest of the Zoological Park.
As a matter of course, the ranges of the buffalo, antelope, deer, moose,
and elk, are in full view from the Kingsbridge Road and Southern
Boulevard, and the Zoological Society has planned that the view from
those avenues shall be left open sufficiently that the herds may be seen
to good advantage.
The Rocking Stone Restaurant, No. 46, has been designed to serve all the
purposes that its name implies. It contains dining-rooms in which full
meals may be obtained, lunch-rooms wherein choice food will be served at
popular prices, and in the basement, toilet-rooms will be found.
The Service Building, No. 28.—Near the Reptile House, and at the
geographical center of the enclosed grounds, is situated a building
which contains the Bureau of Administration of the Zoological Park. Here
will be found the offices of the Chief Clerk, several other Park
officers, and the workshops and storerooms.
Children lost in the Park, and property lost or found, should be
reported without delay at the Chief Clerk’s office in this building. The
telephone call of the Zoological Park is 953 Tremont.
Wheeled Chairs.—By persons desiring them, wheeled chairs can always be
obtained at the entrances, by applying to gatekeepers, or at the office
of the Chief Clerk, in the Service Building. The cost is 25 cents per
hour; with an attendant, 50 cents per hour.
Arrangement of Collections.—Inasmuch as the physical features of the
Zoological Park grounds were important factors in locating the various
collections of animals, a perfect zoological arrangement was impossible.
The existing plan represents the limit of acceptable possibilities in
grouping related animals.
[Illustration: BOATING ON BRONX LAKE.]
The entire southern and western sides of the Park are exclusively
devoted to the Hoofed Animals, in addition to which other members of
that Order will be found at the Elephant and Small-Mammal Houses. The
Carnivorous Animals will be found at the Lion House, Wolf and Fox Dens,
Small-Mammal House and Bear Dens. The Birds are in two groups; one in
the lower end of Bird Valley, and the Large Bird-House on Baird Court;
the other around the Wild-Fowl Pond, south of the Wolf Dens.
The existence of six entrances to the Park renders it impossible to lay
out an all-embracing “tour” for the visitor, and develop the Guide Book
accordingly. The various collections will be handled in zoological
groups, but the various groups cannot follow each other in zoological
sequence. The table of contents and a comprehensive index will render
each item of the subject matter quickly available.
PHYSICAL ASPECT OF THE GROUNDS.
The extreme length of the Park from north to south is 4,950 feet, or 330
feet less than one mile; and its extreme width is 3,120 feet, or
three-fifths of a mile. Roughly estimated, one-third of the land area is
covered by heavy forest, one-third by open forest, and the remaining
third consists of open meadows and glades. The highest point of land in
the Park is the crest of Rocking Stone Hill, the elevation of which is
94.8 feet above sea level.
Topography.—Speaking broadly, the Zoological Park is composed of granite
ridges running from north to south. In many places their crests have
been denuded of earth by the great glacier which once pushed its edge as
far south as New York City. In the valleys lying between these
glacier-scraped ridges, great quantities of sandy, micaceous soil have
been deposited; but in one spot—the Wild-Fowl Pond—what was once a
green, glacial lake fifteen feet deep, presently became a vast
rock-walled silo filled with vegetable matter and a trembling bog of
peat. Everywhere in the Park glacial boulders of rough granite or
smoothly rounded trap-rock, varying in size from a cobble-stone to the
thirty-ton Rocking Stone, have been dropped just where the warm southern
sun freed them from the ice. The Park contains thousands of them, many
of which have been removed from walks and building sites only with great
labor.
In three of the four principal valleys of the Park, bogs have been
converted into ponds, and in the largest and deepest of all lie Bronx
Lake and Lake Agassiz. The bed-rock underlying or cropping out in the
Park exhibits pink granite, gray granite, rotten gneiss, and quartz in
bewildering variety. Occasionally in trench-digging a ledge is
encountered which yields good building-stone for rough work, but usually
our rock is so full of mica as to be worthless.
The water-levels in the various portions of the Park are as follows:
Above Sea Level.
Surface of Bronx Lake 20.40 feet
Surface of Lake Agassiz 31.70 “
Surface of Cope Lake and Duck Ponds 47.00 “
Surface of Wild-Fowl Pond 65.00 “
Surface of Beaver Pond 44.00 “
The floor levels of some of the important buildings are as follows:
Above Sea Level.
Of the Antelope House 88 feet
Of the Reptile House 78 “
Of the Lion House 64 “
Of the Aquatic-Bird House 57 “
Soil.—The soil varies from rich black muck in the valleys, to light and
very dry soil, full of mica and sand, on the ridges and meadows. Where
not packed hard, the latter is very porous, and the heaviest rainfall is
quickly absorbed, or carried away on the surface. As a result, the
valleys are always moist and rich in grass, and the slopes and ridges
are always dry and warm.
Streams and Ponds.—The Zoological Park contains about 34 acres of still
water, of which Bronx Lake comprises 25 acres, Lake Agassiz 5½ acres,
Cope Lake, the Wild-Fowl Pond, and Beaver Pond together, about 3½ acres.
The two larger lakes are fed by the Bronx River, which drains a valley
about 15 miles long. Even in the driest seasons the volume of water
carried down by the Bronx River is sufficient to keep the lakes well
filled. The areas of still water available for animal collections are
very generous for an institution like this, and are highly prized.
The Waterfall.—At the lower end of Lake Agassiz, and about 300 feet
above the Boston Road Bridge, is a natural waterfall nearly 12 feet in
height, where the Bronx River falls over a rugged ledge of pink granite.
In times of high water the foaming flood that thunders over the rocks
makes an imposing spectacle, and it constitutes a most unusual feature
to be found in a city park. During the year 1901, an improvement was
made which added very greatly to the beauty of this feature by extending
the rock ledge about 200 feet farther, to the rocky side of Wilson Hill,
thereby greatly increasing the water area of Lake Agassiz, and at the
same time forming a beautiful island.
Forests.—The crowning glory of the Zoological Park is the magnificent
forest growth which covers, thickly or sparsely, about two-thirds of its
land area. It consists chiefly of white, scarlet, black, red and pin
oaks, tulip, sweet gum, hickory, beech, sassafras, maple, wild cherry,
hornbeam, dogwood, tupelo, hemlock and cedar; but there are at least
thirty other species of trees and shrubs. Thanks to the wise foresight
and broad views of David and Philip Lydig, who for about eighty years
were the sole owners of nearly the whole of the Zoological Park site,
the virgin forest was not cut down for firewood or lumber, but was
carefully preserved for posterity. As the legal custodian of this
splendid domain of Nature, the Zoological Society is as rapidly as
possible going over the entire forest, to arrest decay and death, and
take all needed measures for the preservation of the trees. It is safe
to say that nowhere else within fifty miles of New York can there be
found any more beautiful forests than those in the central and eastern
portions of the Park. Throughout the enclosed grounds, it is absolutely
necessary that visitors should be restricted to the walks; for otherwise
the feet of our millions of visitors would quickly destroy every ground
plant.
The Rocking Stone, No. 45, a colossal cube of pinkish granite, poised on
one of its angles on a smooth pedestal of rock, is the Zoological Park’s
most interesting souvenir of the glacial epoch. Across the bare face of
the rocky hill in which lies the Crocodile Pool, there are several
glacial scratches pointing directly toward the famous boulder; and who
will say it had no part in making one of them?
The Rocking Stone stands on a smooth table of granite on the southern
shoulder of the hill overlooking the Buffalo Range. Its extreme height
is 7 feet 6 inches; breadth, 10 feet 1 inch; thickness, 8 feet 1 inch,
and its weight, as roughly calculated, is 30 tons. A pressure of about
50 lbs. exerted on the most northern angle of the stone causes its apex
to swing north and south about two inches.
[Illustration: WHITE TAILED DEER.]
SECTION I.—THE MAMMALS.
The Hoofed Animals.
The forming of a collection which shall fairly represent the hoofed
animals of the world is necessarily a work of years. It is now (in 1915)
fifteen years since the Zoological Society entered upon this task, and
during that period the work of providing installations and living
specimens has been pursued with unflagging industry. In no feature of
our development has the Society been more liberal than in the purchase
of specimens for this collection, and the gifts to it have been both
numerous and valuable. In our 82 species and 330 specimens we feel that
the Order _Ungulata_ is strongly represented. On April 1, 1913, the
summary of groups stood as follows:
Summary of the Ungulates.
Deer 24 species 164 specimens
Giraffes 1 “ 2 “
Bovines: Bison, etc. 3 “ 38 “
Musk Ox 1 “ 6 “
Wild Sheep, Goats, etc. 8 “ 41 “
Antelopes 22 “ 41 “
Hippopotamus 2 “ 4 “
Wild Swine 3 “ 5 “
Camels and Cameloids 5 “ 10 “
Rhinoceros 2 “ 2 “
Tapirs 2 “ 3 “
Wild Equines 6 “ 9 “
Elephants 3 “ 5 “
Total 82 “ 330 “
The arrangement of this section of the Guide Book begins at the Buffalo
Entrance with the Bisons, and follows the ranges, corrals and buildings
for Hoofed Animals, along the southern and western sides of the Park, to
the Axis Deer Range. The Elephant House is introduced as the visitor
leaves Baird Court, going south.
The large, open pastures are called “ranges,” and the smaller fenced
enclosures are known as “corrals.” The fences are chiefly of hard steel
wire, so strong and elastic that the animals cannot break through them.
[Illustration: AMERICAN BISON: BULL.]
Warning.—Visitors must _never_ stand close beside a wire fence or gate,
because its elasticity between posts might enable a charging animal to
strike a person so standing and inflict a serious injury, even though
the fence or gate is not in the least affected by the blow.
THE BISON RANGES, Nos. 51 and 52.
Stretching from the Boston Road to the large Antelope House (No. 50),
and from the Rocking Stone to the southern boundary, lies an open
expanse of rolling meadow land, with a total area of about twenty acres.
It is almost surrounded by shade-trees. Its easterly edge is a low-lying
strip of rich meadow, which lies under the shelter of the rocky,
tree-covered ridge that forms the natural retaining wall of the higher
plateau toward the west. This is the Bison Range. It is the first
enclosure seen on the left as the visitor enters the Park from West
Farms by way of the Boston Road.
On the north side of the main range, near the Rocking Stone, are the
four corrals, and the Bison House. The latter is a rustic hillside barn,
eighty feet in length, with a semicircular front, affording shelter and
feed storage for thirty-four buffaloes. The flat roof of the Buffalo
House is open to the public from the main walk, and has been specially
designed as a convenient lookout over the main range and corrals. There
are other corrals, and a shelter shed, at the Buffalo Entrance.
[Illustration: EUROPEAN BISON: BULL.]
The American Bison, or Buffalo, (_B. americanus_), is the largest and
the best known of all North American hoofed animals. What was once the
universal herd, which occupied the whole pasture region of the West, was
cut in twain in 1867, by the building of the first trans-continental
railway. The great “southern herd,” of several millions of animals, was
destroyed by skin hunters during the years 1871, 1872, 1873, and 1874,
and the practical extinction of the northern herd was accomplished
between 1880 and 1884.
At present there are but two herds of wild bison in existence. The
largest band, now containing by estimate about 300 individuals, inhabits
a wide stretch of barren and inhospitable territory southwest of Great
Slave Lake. About twenty head remain in the Yellowstone Park, more than
nine-tenths of the original herd having been slaughtered by poachers
since 1890. There are now about 2000 bison alive in captivity, chiefly
in large private game preserves.
Usually bison calves are born in May, June, and July. Full maturity is
not reached until the end of the seventh year, when the horns of the
male—at first a straight spike—have attained their full semi-circular
curve. Like all thick-haired animals of the temperate zone, the American
bison sheds its coat in spring, and does not regain full pelage until
October or November.
The bison breeds in confinement about as readily as domestic cattle. In
appearance, it is the most imposing of all bovine animals, and with two
exceptions it is also the largest. In captivity its disposition is mild,
though inclined to stubbornness. Occasionally, however, an old bull
becomes so vicious that it is necessary to seclude him from the herd,
and treat him as a dangerous animal.
With the exception of a very few individuals, our entire bison herd is
the gift of the late William C. Whitney, and the increase therefrom. The
total number of head on hand on April 1, 1913, was forty-two.
In 1906, the New York Zoological Society presented to the United States
Government a herd of fifteen bison to serve as a nucleus for an
independent National herd. The Government very promptly fenced an area
of twelve square miles of fine grazing grounds in the Wichita Forest and
Game Reserve, for the proper reception of the herd. The plan was
consummated during 1907. The effort has proven completely successful,
and on April 1, 1913, the herd contained thirty-seven bison, all in fine
condition.
European Bison.—In a corral adjoining the Buffalo Entrance, on the
Boston Road, are to be found two specimens of the rare and almost
extinct European Bison, (_Bos bonasus_). This species is the nearest
living relative of the American bison, and the two specimens (male and
female), now exhibited, came quite unexpectedly into the possession of
the Zoological Society in April, 1904. They were acquired from the small
captive herd in the forest of the Prince of Pless, in Silesia,
south-eastern Germany, and are the first living specimens of the species
to be exhibited in America. They were presented to the Society by Mr.
Norman James, of Baltimore, Mr. Charles Sheldon and Dr. Leonard J.
Sanford.
The distinguishing characters of this species are shorter and less
abundant hair on the head, neck and shoulders than our bison, a tail
densely covered with hair throughout its length, very long legs, and a
short body.
But for royal protection, this species would long ere this have become
extinct. In the year 1857, about 1,898 head were living, but in 1892 the
total had decreased to 491. It appears, however, that an increase can
safely be announced. An estimate recently published (1906) places the
total number of wild and semi-wild individuals at 1,400, while in the
captive herds of the Czar and the Prince of Pless there are 46 more.
About 700 of the survivors inhabit the forests of Bielowitza and
Swisslotsch, Lithuania, west Russia, and are strictly protected by the
Czar. Other bands still exist on the northern slope of the Caucasus
Mountains around the sources of the Laba and Bjellaja, sometimes ranging
up to an elevation of 8,000 feet. Wherever found, they live in scattered
bands of from three to ten individuals. All the survivors of this
species are so jealously guarded that very few of the zoological gardens
of Europe have been able to procure specimens.
This animal is very often miscalled the “aurochs,” and from this error
much confusion has arisen. The true aurochs, (_Bos primigenius_), was
the wild progenitor of some of the existing breeds of domestic cattle,
but it is now extinct.
MOUNTAIN SHEEP HILL, No. 44.
The wild sheep and goats of the world form an exceedingly interesting
group of animals. In form they are odd and picturesque, and in temper
and mentality they are everything that could be desired. All the year
round, deer are either nervous or dangerous, and difficult to handle.
Wild sheep, goats and ibex appreciate man’s interest in them, and even
when not fond of attention, they act sensibly when it is necessary to
handle them.
The Zoological Park collection of wild sheep and goats is one of the
most interesting features of the Park. Mountain Sheep Hill is the first
high ridge west of the Rocking Stone, and its northern end is very near
the Bear Dens and Reptile House. It consists of a ridge of pink granite
500 feet long and 25 feet high, its southern end fully exposed, but the
northern end well shaded by oaks and cedars. For grazing animals that
love to climb, and pose on the sky line, the slopes of bare rock, set in
patches of hard, green turf, are almost ideal. In the eastern face of
the ridge, rock excavations have been made, and five roomy caves have
been constructed in such a manner that they are cool in summer, warm in
winter, and dry at all times. On April 1, 1913, the six wire enclosures
on Mountain Sheep Hill contained the following species:
[Illustration: WHITE-FRONTED MUSK-OX.]
[Illustration: BIG-HORN MOUNTAIN SHEEP RAM.]
Suleiman Markhor.
Arcal Mountain Sheep.
Mouflon.
Persian Wild Goat.
Himalayan Tahr.
Aoudad.
Because of the curious (and unaccountable) fact that they do not thrive
on Mountain Sheep Hill, the Rocky Mountain Goat and Chamois are
exhibited elsewhere. The former will be found near the Pheasant Aviary,
next to the Musk-ox.
Visitors are requested to make note of the fact that _in winter_, the
_Arcal Sheep, Mouflon, and other delicate sheep are exhibited in the
Small-Deer House_.
The White-Fronted Musk-Ox, (_Ovibos wardi_, Lydekker), is represented in
the Park by a herd of six specimens. Five of these animals were born in
May, 1910, in Ellesmere Land, and captured in that year by Paul J.
Rainey and Harry C. Whitney, and presented by Mr. Rainey. The sixth
individual, a vigorous and rather vicious female, was born on Melville
Island, in May, 1909, and captured by Captain Joseph Bernier. Owing to
the domineering temper of “Miss Melville,” it is not possible to keep
her with the animals a year younger than herself, because she resents
their presence in her corral.
The Musk-Ox is an animal of strange form, inhabiting a small portion of
the Arctic regions of the western hemisphere, up to the very
northernmost points of land east of the Mackenzie River. At Fort Conger
(Latitude 81°, 40′), its flesh was a godsend to General Greely, and
later on to Commander Peary, also. Structurally, this animal stands in a
genus of its own (_Ovibos_), midway between the cattle and the sheep,
but it is unqualifiedly a misnomer to call it a “musk-sheep.”
An adult male Musk-Ox stands 4 ft. 5 in. high at the shoulders and is 6
ft. 7 in. in total length. Our first specimen was a female, two years
old. She stood 3 ft. 2 in. high at the shoulders, and was 4 ft. 10 in.
in total length. Her entire body was covered by a dense mass of fine
light brown hair, of a woolly nature, overlaid by a thatch of very long,
straight hair specially designed to shed rain.
The Musk-Ox inhabits the Barren Grounds of northern Canada north of
Latitude 64° from Great Bear Lake to Hudson Bay, Grant Land, and the
northeast coast of Greenland from Franz Josef Fiord (Latitude 70°) to
the most northerly point of land. About twenty living specimens have
been taken when very young at Franz Josef Fiord, by Swedish and
Norwegian whaling parties. The Peary Arctic Club, of New York, presented
to the New York Zoological Society a young calf which was captured by
Commander Peary at Fort Conger, in 1902, but it lived only a few months.
[Illustration: MOUFLON]
[Illustration: ARCAL SHEEP]
[Illustration: HIMALAYAN TAHR]
[Illustration: BURRHEL]
The Big-Horn Mountain Sheep, (_Ovis canadensis_), is exhibited in the
Zoological Park, whenever it may be obtained. The efforts that have been
made in New York, Philadelphia, Washington and Chicago to acclimatize
the Big-Horn of the Rocky Mountains have proven the extreme difficulty
involved in keeping specimens of that species alive and in good
condition anywhere in the Mississippi Valley, or on the Atlantic coast.
The changes of atmosphere and temperature seem more violent than
American mountain sheep are fitted by nature to endure, and thus far all
specimens tried have died within a comparatively few months.
[Illustration: CHAMOIS]
[Illustration: MARKHOR]
In his own country, the Rocky Mountain Big-Horn is a bold, hardy and
robust animal. He is high-headed, keen-sighted, and a sure-footed
mountaineer. He dwells in the wildest and most picturesque country that
he can find between the “bad-lands” of western North Dakota and the line
of perpetual snow on the Rockies. His massive circling horns render his
head a much-coveted trophy, and his flesh is most excellent food. A
full-grown ram (_Ovis canadensis_) stands 41 inches in height at the
shoulders, and weighs 316 pounds.
[Illustration: AOUDAD]
[Illustration: PERSIAN WILD GOAT]
This species ranges from the northern states of Mexico to northern
British Columbia and it culminates (i. e., reaches its finest
development) in southeastern British Columbia. In Northwest Alaska other
related species occur. A female specimen from southeastern British
Columbia was exhibited in the Zoological Park during 1905 and 1906, and
in 1902, a male specimen of a closely related species (_Ovis nelsoni_)
was also here.
As opportunities offer to procure male specimens, that have been kept in
their home region until they are at least a year and a half old, they
will be purchased and exhibited.
The Mouflon, (_Ovis musimon_), or Wild Sheep of Sardinia, is represented
by a fine pair of specimens presented by Maurice Egerton, Esq., of
London, and a young male born in the Park. The female of the adult pair
was captured when a lamb in the mountains of Sardinia by Mr. Egerton.
The ram of this species is handsomely colored, and this specimen is
noted for his friendliness, and his fondness for admiration.
The Arcal Mountain Sheep, (_Ovis cycloceros_), is one of the smallest
mountain sheep of India of the “big-horn” type (with circling horns).
The fully adult male, with its long undermane of coarse, shaggy hair and
proud postures, is a very noteworthy creature. This species inhabits the
mountains of northern India, Tibet, Afghanistan, Beluchistan and
southern Persia.
The Burrhel, or Blue Mountain Sheep, (_Ovis burrhel_), also of northern
India, is of quite a different mould from the preceding species. Its
countenance has almost a benign expression, and its curious out-pointing
horns, of large size give it a most jaunty air. By some it is regarded
as the most beautiful of all mountain sheep. In size, however, it is not
imposing, for it is one of the smallest species. It is not so hardy as
the preceding species, and there may be periods when there are no
specimens on exhibition.
The Aoudad, or Barbary Wild Sheep, (_Ovis tragelaphus_), comes from the
hot, dry mountains of northern Africa, and it endures the cold, wet
climate of New York in a manner sufficient to put to shame our American
mountain sheep, goat and other western ruminants. The largest male
Aoudad of our herd is a very fine specimen of its kind. He is as fond of
admiration as any peacock, and often poses in striking attitudes on the
highest point of his rocks. He was born here on March 19, 1902.
The Himalayan Tahr, (_Hemitragus jemlaicus_), is really a wild goat, of
very odd and picturesque aspect, native of the higher ranges of the
Himalayas of northern India. Its horns are short and thick, and its body
is covered with long, purplish-brown hair which is much blown about by
the wind. It dwells amongst the most dangerous crags and precipices,
just below timber-line, and in reality is a forest-loving animal. Its
hair is the longest to be found on any member of the two subfamilies of
goats and goat-like animals. The pair on exhibition have bred here, and
the young have been successfully reared to maturity. The young Tahr is
very small, but remarkably nimble-footed and capable.
The Chamois, (_Rupicapra tragus_), has usually been represented in the
hoofed-animal collection, but always out of its proper installation. Our
individuals have not thriven on Mountain Sheep Hill, always becoming ill
soon after being placed there. They thrive well, however, in a small
wire pen with a sanded floor quite near the Puma and Lynx House (No.
33A), and there we keep them.
This animal is one of the rock antelopes, and is related to the American
Mountain Goat. It is a bold mountaineer, and even to-day is pictorially
represented as leaping “from crag to crag” across chasms apparently 200
feet wide! Its home is in the mountains of southern Europe, especially
the Pyrenees, the Swiss Alps and the Caucasus Mountains. But it is not
so exclusively a crag-dweller, as most persons have been led to suppose,
for in many localities it inhabits mountain forests. Like most other
mountain ungulates, the Chamois dwell high in summer, and in winter they
seek lower and more sheltered situations. They are exceedingly wary and
agile, and sure-footed on dangerous ground.
THE ANTELOPE HOUSE, NO. 50.
The Antelope House occupies a commanding situation on a high,
tree-covered knoll at the south end of the Zoological Park. The
situation seems as if specially formed by Nature to be occupied by this
building, and its outside enclosures. The drainage is quite perfect, and
the yards are well-shaded.
The building has been designed to meet the wants of giraffes and large
African antelopes of all kinds, more especially those which require 60°
of heat in winter.
[Illustration: NILGAI: INDIAN ANTELOPE.]
The Antelope House is 142 feet long by 78 feet in extreme width. In
architectural style it conforms with the other large animal buildings of
the Park. Both for visitors and for its animals, it is roomy and well
lighted, and in every way fitted to house and display a large and
valuable collection of tropical hoofed animals. It contains 24 interior
compartments, directly connected with 23 open-air yards for use in mild
weather. This building was completed and occupied on October 17, 1903,
and with all its surrounding improvements has cost about $80,000.
As the visitor will observe from the following enumeration of species,
our collection of large and rare African and Asiatic antelopes is very
rich. Unfortunately, until the completion of the Zebra House releases
the apartments now occupied by the equines, a number of species which
belong in the Antelope House must temporarily be quartered elsewhere.
The Nubian or Three-Horned Giraffes, (_Giraffa camelopardalis_), are at
present the most important and interesting animals in the building. The
pair came from German East Africa, are now (April, 1913) about twelve
years old, and cost $5,500. The male stands 14 feet 4 inches in height,
and the female 12 feet 6 inches. Both are good-tempered animals, and
have been in good health ever since their arrival. Their food consists
of clover hay, broken forage-biscuits, an assortment of raw vegetables
carefully cut into small pieces, a small quantity of bran, and rock
salt.
A study of the Giraffes reveals most interesting conditions. According
to the point of view, the total number of species and subspecies may be
reckoned at any number from three to six, inclusive. According to the
specimens in hand, the Southern, or Two-Horned Giraffe, (_Giraffa
capensis_), seems clearly defined from the Northern, or Three-Horned
Giraffe, (_G. camelopardalis_). Next, the Somali Giraffe, (_G.
reticulata_), of the Lake Rudolph region and northern British East
Africa, seems fairly separable. At first the Five-Horned Giraffe, of
western Uganda, seemed quite distinct, but now British naturalists
hesitate about according to it rank as a separate species, because of
its intergradation with the Nubian form, (_camelopardalis_).
Judging from all evidence now available, it seems that the Giraffes of
to-day represent the midway stage of an effort to develop several
species from the parent stock, the Three-Horned Giraffe, which is the
species here represented. The existing forms, including all species and
subspecies, intergrade and run together in a manner that is fairly
bewildering; but if the Giraffes could remain uninfluenced by man for a
sufficiently long period the probabilities are that the species now
branching off would be clearly established.
The oldest, the best-known and the most common Giraffe is the
three-horned species, found from central Uganda southward. The
five-horned variety meets the former in Uganda, and occurs from that
region westward to the edge of the great equatorial forest, and on
westward even to Lake Tchad, and the lower Niger Valley. Excepting in
Uganda, Kahma’s country, and a few other protected districts, the
Giraffe is now rare, particularly throughout the regions that are
accessible to hunters. Thousands of these wonderful creatures have been
killed by hunters, both white and black, solely for the sake of seeing
them dead, and leaving them as prey to the hyænas and hunting-dogs. It
seems to be beyond the power of most men who can shoot to see living
wild animals, no matter how large or wonderful, without desiring to
reduce them to carcasses, fit only for scavengers.
[Illustration: NUBIAN GIRAFFES.]
The Eland, (_Taurotragus oryx_), is the largest and most imposing of all
antelopes. As might be inferred from its great size, it is now so nearly
extinct that it has almost disappeared from the lists of dealers in wild
animals. The fine young pair now in the Antelope House was presented by
the Duke of Bedford, from his famous animal collection at Woburn Park.
The fully adult female is the gift of Mr. C. Ledyard Blair.
Of Elands there are two well-marked species. That of eastern and
southern Africa, here represented, was once numerous on many of the
fertile plains of the great plateau now known as Rhodesia, and in fact
throughout nearly the whole of the uplands of eastern Africa, from the
Cape to the Sahara. Unfortunately, however, white hunters and modern
firearms have reduced the countless thousands of the great herds to
numbers so small that the capture and exportation of Elands have
practically ceased.
Although a number of Elands have been born in captivity, the number on
public exhibition still remain very small. The only captive herd known
to the writer is that of the Duke of Bedford, in Woburn Park, England,
which is at once the admiration and envy of all collectors of living
wild animals.
The White-Tailed Gnu, (_Connochaetes gnu_), once was abundant in South
Africa, south of the Vaal River. But it has shared the fate of all the
other large mammals of that region, and only a few scattered bands still
exist. Nearly all of the specimens now living in captivity were born in
captivity, for both species of Gnu take kindly to life in parks and
gardens.
Every way considered, the Gnu is an animal of odd and remarkable form.
It has a nose of strange shape, its horns are curiously formed, the hair
on its head and neck exhibits various peculiarities, and its hips are
oddly modeled. Its long, flowing tail is so horse-like that for many
years this animal was pictured and popularly known as the “Horned
Horse.”
The White-Bearded Gnu, (_Connochaetes albojubatus_), is noticeably
larger than the white-tailed species, and in some respects it presents a
finer appearance. Its bulk is considerably greater, and its color is
more pleasing. This species bears a strong resemblance to the third
species, which is known as the Brindled or Blue Gnu, (_Connochaetes
taurinus_), from which the former is distinguished by its white mane and
jaw-tufts, and generally paler color. At wide intervals the
White-Bearded species inhabits southern East Africa, from about S. Lat.
23°, to the Albert Nyanza and Lake Rudolph, but chiefly near the coast.
In only one locality do we learn of its occurrence west of the 30th
meridian. To-day it is most numerous in German East Africa and the
southern portions of Uganda.
The Addax Antelope, (_Addax naso-maculatus_), is a spiral-horned
antelope which inhabits the southern edge of the Sahara Desert from
Dongola quite across Africa to Senegal. Its extremely broad and
spreading hoofs betoken a dweller upon sand, and are strongly suggestive
of the snow-shoe hoofs of the caribou. It is said that this animal is
not to be taken without making a journey into the desert, with camels.
The Leucoryx Antelope, (_Oryx leucoryx_), is the only member of its
genus which has curved horns. Because of the length and very slight
curvature of the horns, this species has by some writers been spoken of
as the Sabre Antelope, and by a mischievous perversion that name has
been turned into “Sable” Antelope, which refers to a totally different
creature, (_Hippotragus niger_). Anyone who places an order for the
purchase of a real Sable Antelope, and receives a Leucoryx instead of
_Hippotragus niger_, is profoundly disappointed.
This species is a desert habitant, and its home is the desert region of
North Africa from Dongola to the Senegal country. It is breeding
regularly here, and the offspring mature successfully. The largest
Leucoryx horns on record measure 39⅝ inches.
[Illustration: BEATRIX ANTELOPE]
[Illustration: BLESSBOK]
The Beisa Antelope, (_Oryx beisa_), is a good representative of the
group of straight-horned antelopes found in the genus _Oryx_. Of all the
long-horned species, the two Beisas and the Gemsbok of Africa, and the
Beatrix of Arabia, are the only species possessed of horns that are
practically straight from base to tip. The Gemsbok is the largest and
most showy species, being painted like a harlequin, in a startling
pattern of roan, black and white. The Beisa is a good second, however.
The horns of all these antelopes grow to great length, and are excellent
weapons for use in encounters with the smaller game-killing carnivores.
The largest horns of record measure 40 inches.
The Beisa inhabits eastern Central Africa, from Suakin on the Red Sea
southward to the Equator.
The Beatrix Antelope, (_Oryx beatrix_), of the Arabian Desert, is one of
the rarest antelopes to be found in captivity, and at this date this
interesting species is represented by a fine pair of specimens. The
longest horns of record measure 26 inches. Very few sportsmen have seen
this animal in its native haunts. Our pair has been breeding for three
years, and has reared two young.
The Sable Antelope, (_Hippotragus niger_), is by many persons regarded
as the handsomest of all the numerous species of African antelopes. In
appearance it is very proud and high-headed; it has imposing horns that
sweep backward in a semicircular curve; its large eyes and alert air
betoken keen intelligence, and its glossy black coat, marked with pure
white, render it a most conspicuous animal. On its native veldt it has
now become a very rare species, and seldom is taken by sportsmen. The
fine male specimen in the Park was presented by Miss Jean Walker
Simpson.
[Illustration: LEUCORYX ANTELOPE]
[Illustration: WHITE-TAILED GNU]
The Sing-Sing Waterbuck, (_Cobus unctuosus_), is a creature of the
lowlands, and frequents the dense tangles of tall reeds that border many
of the rivers of West Africa, above the great equatorial forest. In
captivity it sometimes is one of the most insanely nervous and
irrational creatures imaginable, ever seeking self-inflicted injuries.
The Blessbok, (_Damaliscus albifrons_), is a small but handsome
purple-and-white antelope which is now very nearly extinct. Formerly a
number of herds were preserved on fenced farms in the Transvaal and
Orange Free State, but it is feared that none of them survived the Boer
War. This species never lived north of the Limpopo, but south of that
river it once was so numerous that a truthful traveler described a vast
plain as being “purple with Blessbok.”
The Nilgai, (_Portax tragocamelus_), is the largest of the Indian
antelopes, and while it has the stature and the high shoulders of a
Baker roan antelope, its absurdly small horns give it, beside the large
antelopes of Africa, a very commonplace and unfinished appearance. The
males and females are as differently colored as if they belonged to
different species. This animal inhabits the roughest portions of the
central plains of Hindustan, from Mysore to the Himalayas. In northern
India it is found along the rivers Jumna and Ganges, in rugged and
barren tracts of ravines which in character and origin resemble our
western “bad-lands.”
[Illustration: ELAND]
The small antelopes will be found in the Small-Deer House, the next
building in order.
THE SMALL-DEER HOUSE, No. 49.
In captivity the small and delicate species of deer, antelopes and
gazelles are better cared for in enclosures that are not too large. For
such creatures, freedom in a large enclosure usually means early death
from accident or exposure.
The very important building called the Small-Deer House has been erected
with special reference to the wants of the interesting little hoofed
animals which are too small for the Antelope House and the large ranges.
In winter it will shelter the small tropical mountain sheep and goats,
which are unable to withstand the rigors of outdoor life on Mountain
Sheep Hill, and the tropical swine may also be expected here.
The Small-Deer House is situated in close proximity to the Antelope
House, and westward thereof. Of the buildings of secondary rank, it is
one of the most satisfactory, being roomy, well-lighted and capable of
comfortably housing and displaying a large and varied collection. The
structure is 158 feet in length by 46 feet in width. It contains thirty
compartments, each of which, under stress of necessity, can be
partitioned, and formed into two. The interior compartments are each 10
feet wide by 10 feet deep. The building is surrounded by a series of 34
corrals, connecting with the interior compartments, the average size of
each being 75 feet long by 20 feet wide at the outer end. All the fences
are of wire, and were specially designed in the Park for this
installation.
[Illustration: SABLE ANTELOPE.]
It is a practical impossibility to offer an enumeration of the living
animals in this building which will permanently apply, and the best that
can be attempted is an approximation. It is an inexorable law of Nature
that the smallest animals shall have the shortest periods of life, and
in a zoological park a small hoofed animal may be here to-day and gone
to-morrow. In the following enumeration, mention will be made only of
those species which are likely to remain longest on exhibition; and it
may be observed that in this building there will be found various
animals which are neither deer nor antelopes.
The Small Deer.
Osceola White-Tailed Deer, (_Odocoileus virginianus osceola_), is an
interesting geographic race of the northern White-Tailed Deer which
forms the parent stem of a group of six or seven subspecies. The robust
and hardy northern type, often with large and strong antlers, gradually
diminishes in size and in antlers, until in Mexico it becomes a small
and delicate creature, with very small and light antlers bearing only
two or three small tines. The next form has so widely diverged from the
original type that it is necessary to accord it rank as a full species.
[Illustration: REDUNCA ANTELOPE.]
The Sinaloa White-Tailed Deer, (_Odocoileus sinaloae_), is still smaller
and weaker than the preceding. Our pair of specimens shown was obtained
by Mr. and Mrs. C. William Beebe, in the State of Guadalajara, Mexico,
and are highly interesting as a link near the lower terminus of the
_Odocoileus_ chain. On a majority of the antlers of this species there
are no branches whatever, but simply a weak main beam, curving over at
the tip, and terminating in a rounded point.
It should be noted here that the White-Tailed Deer group,
(_Odocoileus_), is very well represented in South America by _O.
weigmanni_ of the Guianas.
The Marsh Deer, (_Blastoceros paludosus_), of eastern South America, is
the largest South American deer. Our first specimen was obtained in
1904. Its antlers are strongly built but short, and in architecture
resemble the antlers of a Siamese species known as Schomburgk Deer,
(_Cervus schomburgki_); but the latter has on each beam three double
bifurcations, while the former has but two. The Marsh Deer has very
large, wide-spreading hoofs, which it would seem have been developed by
many generations of existence on soft ground. It inhabits the jungles
along river banks, in Brazil. The head of this animal is of remarkable
length.
This important species is rather weak in captivity, and it is by no
means certain that it can constantly be exhibited here. There is another
South American species, (_Blastoceros campestris_), which is a
zoological understudy, or miniature, of the large Marsh Deer.
The Black-Faced Brocket, (_Mazama tema_), _whenever it can be obtained_,
will represent a group of American deer which is as little known in the
United States as if it inhabited the heart of Borneo. The Brockets are
smaller than the Sinaloa white-tailed deer, and they are so nearly
hornless that the antler is merely a small, straight, sharp-pointed
spike of bone only three inches long. The adult animal is only 25 inches
in shoulder height, which is about the size of the muntjac of India. Of
the Brockets there are several species, mostly South American, but from
skulls and horns received we now know that it is found as far north as
the State of Puebla, Mexico. A correspondent in that locality is
constantly endeavoring to secure specimens for us, and no doubt will
shortly succeed. For the reason that we expect specimens in the near
future, this species is included.
The Hog Deer, (_Cervus porcinus_), which is very unlike a hog, and is
libeled by its name, is a small species from India, which is provided
with long and well-shaped antlers having a total of six points.
Sometimes the adult males are spotted in summer, and sometimes they are
not. This species stands next to the beautiful axis deer. It breeds well
in captivity, but is a very nervous and even hysterical animal.
The Molucca Deer, (_Cervus moluccensis_), is a thick-bodied,
scantily-clad and coarse-haired understudy of the Malay sambar, (_Cervus
unicolor_). Of all deer it is one of the least beautiful. Its hair
resembles the bristles of a wild hog, and its color is a dull, raw-umber
brown. It belongs to the sambar group of East Indian deer, and really
marks, both geographically and in size, the farthest departure from the
type species of the group.
The Muntjac or Rib-Faced Deer, (_Cervus muntjac_), is one of the most
interesting of all species of small deer. In one respect it is unique.
Its tiny antlers, which are only 4½ inches in length, are placed high up
on stems of solid bone, which sometimes rise 3¾ inches clear of the
cranium. These pedicles of bone are covered with skin, quite up to the
burr of the antler. The front angles of these pedicles are continued
down the face to the nasal bones, and form the two sharply defined
facial ridges which have given this creature one of its popular names.
[Illustration: SASIN ANTELOPE.]
In India the Muntjac inhabits the jungles of the tiger, the leopard,
axis deer and sloth bear, and escapes from its numerous enemies by
hiding behind logs, and scurrying through the thick underbush so swiftly
that its pursuers can not keep it in view. Its flesh is most excellent
food. From its peculiar, yapping cry, many times repeated, it is often
called the Barking Deer. It breeds readily in captivity, and its bright
fawn color attracts to it much attention.
The Musk Deer, (_Moschus moschiferus_), of northern India, Tibet and
Southern China is the creature which produces the well-known musk
perfume of commerce. The product is secreted by the male in the
“rutting” season. This species is one of the smallest of the true deer.
Its most remarkable anatomical feature is a pair of very long and sharp
canine teeth in the upper jaw, the points of which project far below the
lower jaw. No horns are present in this animal. Being short-lived in
captivity, and also difficult to obtain, it must be classed as an
intermittent exhibit.
The Small African Antelopes.
In addition to the grand array of large antelopes inhabiting Africa, of
which many fine examples will be found in the Antelope House, there is
an extensive series of small species. Indeed, the richness of Africa in
antelopes, great and small, is almost beyond belief. The species of Asia
and Europe are so few, and so inconspicuous, that they seem like so many
stray wanderers from the Dark Continent. The fertile, grassy plains of
the great Central African plateau have cradled scores of species, some
of which have wandered into the deserts, the forests and the fluviatile
swamps, and there made their permanent homes.
The Black-Buck, or Sasin Antelope, (_Antilope cervicapra_), of the
central plains of Hindustan, is one of the handsomest of the smaller
antelopes. The horns of the male are long, strongly ringed, twisted
spirally, and rise from the head in the shape of a V, sometimes to a
length of 28 inches. At first the young males are fawn-colored, like the
females, but as they grow older they steadily grow darker, until finally
the whole upper body and lower neck are suffused with a rich,
brown-black color. On the plains between the rivers Ganges and Jumna,
herds of Black-Buck live in densely populated agricultural regions, and
one of the greatest difficulties attendant upon its pursuit lies in
shooting an animal without also shooting the native.
The Reedbuck, (_Cervicapra arundinum_), of South Africa, below Angola
and Mozambique, is closely related to the larger and much more showy
waterbucks, but is distinguished from them by the pronounced forward
curve of its horns. In the western districts of Cape Colony, the number
alive, in 1905, was estimated at 350 individuals.
The Common Duiker Antelope, (_Cephalophus grimmi_), or for that matter,
any species of Duiker—may be regarded as the representative of a large
group of very small African antelopes, of wide distribution. There are
about twenty species in all, and the great majority of them are very
modestly colored, in coats of one or two colors only. The prevailing
tints are grayish brown and tawny red. The horns of the various species
of Duikers are all very much alike. With but one or two exceptions,
their horns are straight spikes from 3 to 5 inches in length. In
shoulder height the Duikers vary from 14 to 30 inches, but the majority
are between 17 and 22 inches. Only three or four species are strikingly
colored.
The Four-Horned Antelope, (_Tetraceros quadricornis_) is a small
creature which looks like a duiker, but is very far from belonging to
that genus. It is an inhabitant of the brushy plains of India, and
enjoys the unique distinction of possessing two pairs of horns. In
addition to the 4-inch pair, normally placed, it has a much smaller
pair, usually only 1 inch in height, which rises from the central area
of the forehead. I believe it is the only species of antelope which
possesses two pairs of horns.
[Illustration: GREAT GRAY KANGAROO.]
The Springbuck, (_Antidorcas euchore_), is to South Africa as the
“prong-horn” is to our great western plains. Once, both were abundant,
and the first hoofed animal to greet the traveler who entered their
respective domains. To-day, both species are so nearly extinct that the
hunter must search long before finding even one. The Springbuck received
its name in recognition of its remarkable habit of leaping high into the
air when running—a habit which also is displayed by the black-buck of
India.
The Gazelles are found only in Asia and Africa, and the number of
species is about 25. In general terms they may be described as dainty
antelopes,—so slender and delicate in leg construction that it seems
strange that such slender bones can support a tall animal without
breaking.
The Dorcas Gazelle, of Arabia, (_Gazella dorcas_), is the species which
most frequently finds its way into captivity, and it will serve very
well as a specimen species for the whole group. Despite its delicate and
frail appearance, it is much more enduring in captivity than many
animals which seem far more robust. A pair which entered the Park in
1900 is still living. The male has a temper which quite belies the
reputation of the “gentle gazelle.” Although loyal and kind to his
cage-mate, toward human beings generally he has manifested a very savage
disposition, and in one of his fits of bad temper he broke off one of
his own horns.
[Illustration: ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT.]
The Indian Gazelle, (_Gazella benneti_),—frequently called in its home
country Ravine “Deer,”—is a habitant of the sterile, water-washed
ravines of northern and central India, which are the oriental
counterpart of our western “badlands.” This animal inhabits the same
regions as the black-buck, but because of the religious scruples of the
Hindoos against the taking of life, both species are secure from
attack—until the arrival among them of the white sahibs. A full-grown
Indian Gazelle is 26 inches in shoulder height. The females of this
species possess horns, which are very slender, and vary in length from 4
to 8½ inches.
Miscellaneous Mammals.
The Small-Deer House will at all times contain various mammals which are
there shown because it is a practical impossibility to provide a
separate building for each group.
The Wild Swine of the world are here represented by three noteworthy
species:
The Red River-Hog, (_Potamochaerus pencillatus_), of West Africa, is
about the only handsome species of swine that Nature has produced. In
form it is compact and well-turned, its long pencil-tipped ears are of
pleasing pattern, and its hair is a rich auburn color, and the temper of
our specimen is everything that could be desired. Beside it is shown
“Clarence,” the East African Wart-Hog, (_Phacochaerus aethiopicus_), who
is equally interesting, but in a different way. This species is very
weird in form. The Collared Peccary, (_Tagassu angulatum_), beside it is
more like the wild swine of Europe and Japan, and is not nearly so
dangerous as general reputation demands.
The Kangaroos.—Seldom is there found in Nature a group of large-animal
species whose members are so monotonously similar in general appearance
as are the Kangaroos and Wallabies, of Australia. The great majority are
either gray or gray-brown, and the only striking variation is found in
the big Red Kangaroo, (_Macropus rufus_).
THE WHITE MOUNTAIN GOAT, No. 48.
Fortunate indeed is the zoological park or garden which can exhibit even
one living specimen of the White Mountain Goat. It is a very difficult
matter to take an animal from a rarified dry atmosphere, at an elevation
of 8,000 feet, and induce it to live at sea level, in a dense and humid
atmosphere, on food to which it is by nature wholly unaccustomed.
We have been successful in establishing here, on a breeding basis this
rare and difficult animal, (_Oreamnos montanus_). One kid was born in
1908 and another in 1910, and both have thriven, the former now being so
large as to look like an adult specimen.
For some subtle reason which we can not explain, these animals—like the
chamois and mouflon quartered in small pens near the Small-Mammal
House—do not thrive in any of the large, rock-bound corrals of Mountain
Sheep Hill. They are kept in a rock-paved corral near the Pheasant
Aviary and the Crotona Entrance, and to their use has been devoted a
rustic barn, which they shelter in or climb over, according to the
weather. To see them walking nonchalantly over the steep roof, or
perching upon its peak, is one of the drollest sights of the Park.
The White Goat, sometimes mistakenly called “goat antelope,” belongs to
a small group known as the Rupicaprines or rock antelopes. It inhabits
many different kinds of territory, but usually the rugged sides and
summits of high mountains, at irregular intervals from southwestern
Montana and northern Washington, northward to the head of Cook Inlet on
the coast of Alaska. (See map of distribution, with label.) The valley
of the upper Yukon contains practically no goats. They are most abundant
in southeastern British Columbia, where in a very small area, in
September, 1905, Mr. John M. Phillips and the writer actually counted
239 individuals.
Of the five animals now exhibited in the Park, three were captured a few
days after their birth, in May, 1905, about seventy miles north of Fort
Steele, British Columbia. They arrived here October 9, 1905, and up to
this date they have thriven as well, and grown as rapidly, as they would
have in a state of nature. Their food consists of the best clover hay
obtainable, and crushed oats. When they shed their coats, in the spring,
they are almost as white as snow, but with months of use, their pelage
becomes soiled and slightly discolored.
A fully adult male mountain goat stands from 39 to 41 inches in shoulder
height, and weighs, _on scales_, from 258 to 300 pounds.
THE PRONG-HORNED ANTELOPE.
The Prong-Horned Antelope, (_Antilocapra americana_), is an animal in
which Americans should now take special interest. Structurally, the
Prong-Horn is so peculiar that it has been found necessary to create for
it a special zoological family, called _Antilocapridae_, of which it is
the sole member. This is due to the following facts: (1) This is the
only living mammal possessing hollow horns (growing over a bony core)
which sheds them annually; (2) it is the only animal possessing a hollow
horn which bears a prong, or bifurcation; (3) it has no “dew claws,” as
other ruminant animals have; (4) the horn is placed directly above the
eye; (5) the long hair of the body and neck is tubular; and (6) that on
the rump is erectile. Beyond all possibility of doubt, it will be our
next large species to become extinct, and if we may judge by the rate at
which the bands have been disappearing during the last fifteen years,
ten years more will, in all probability, witness the extermination of
the last individuals now struggling to exist outside of rigidly
protected areas. It was the intention of the Society to make liberal
provision for the study of the species while it is yet possible to
obtain living specimens, for fifty years hence our graceful and
zoologically interesting Prong-Horn will be as extinct as the dodo.
Unfortunately, however, it fares so badly on the Atlantic coast, there
will, no doubt, be periods wherein this species will be temporarily
absent from the Park.
[Illustration: AMERICAN PRONG HORNED ANTELOPE.]
Forty years ago this animal inhabited practically the whole of the great
pasture region which stretches eastward from the Rocky Mountains to the
western borders of Iowa and Missouri. Northward its range extended far
into Manitoba; southward it went far beyond the Rio Grande, and it also
ranged southwestward through Colorado and Nevada to southern California.
Its chosen home was the treeless plains, where the rich buffalo grass
and bunch grass afforded abundant food, but it also frequented the
beautiful mountain parks of Wyoming and Colorado. It even lived
contentedly in the deserts of the southwest, where its voluntary
presence, coupled with the absence of water, constituted a problem which
has puzzled the brain of many a desert traveller.
[Illustration: BACTRIAN CAMEL.]
To-day, all observers agree that in all regions wherein the antelope are
not rigidly protected, they are going fast. Those in the Yellowstone
Park are protected against man only to be devoured by the wolves which
infest the Park.
Unfortunately, the Prong-Horned Antelope is not a hardy animal. The kids
are very difficult to rear; they are at all times easily hurt by
accident, and even in a state of nature this species suffers more
severely in winter than any other North American ruminant. Often the
herds drift helplessly before the blizzards, with numerous deaths from
freezing and starvation, and in spring the survivors come out thin and
weak.
THE CAMEL HOUSE, No. 39.
Speaking in a collective sense, the Camel is much more than an ordinary
animal unit in a zoological park. On the high plains of central and
southwestern Asia, and throughout the arid regions of Africa, it is an
institution. Without it, many portions of the Old World would be
uninhabitable by man. Take either Dromedary or Bactrian Camel, and it is
a sad-eyed, ungainly, slow-moving creature, full of plaints and
objections; but remember that it goes so far back toward the foundations
of man’s dynasty, that beside it the oldest American history seems but a
record of yesterday. It is only a species of the utmost tenacity which
could for fifty centuries or more withstand constant use and abuse by
man without being altered out of all resemblance to its original form.
All races of mankind and all breeds of domestic animals save one, change
and continue to change, indefinitely, but the Camels apparently go on
the same, forever.
[Illustration: ALPACA.]
The Bactrian Camel, (_Camelus bactrianus_), he of the long shaggy
hair—_when not shedding_—and the two great humps, is the beast of heavy
burden, the four-footed freight-car of the desert sands. He can carry
550 pounds of freight, for three or four days between drinks; but a
swift pace is not for him. It is an animal of this remarkable species,
from distant Turkestan, southwestern Asia, which daily in fine weather
offers its services as a riding animal, at the stand near the Large
Bird-House.
It is unfortunate that the Bactrian Camel is in its finest pelage only
in winter, when visitors to the Park are few, and camel-riding is out of
the question. Promptly upon the approach of warm weather and a million
visitors, it sheds its long, shaggy brown coat, and stands forth as if
shorn by a shearer. Of this species, the Zoological Society possesses
two fine specimens (the gift of Captain John S. Barnes), one of which
will at all times be found regularly exhibited at the Camel House, close
by the Crotona (southwest) Entrance.
[Illustration: VICUNIA.]
The Dromedary, or Single-Humped Camel, (_Camelus dromedarius_), is a
smaller animal than the preceding, of lighter build, and therefore
capable of much more speed in travelling. This species never is clothed
with long hair.
Next to the Camel House and corrals is the installation for the nearest
relatives of those species,—the Llamas, Guanacos and other cameloids of
South America.
THE LLAMA HOUSE, No. 38.
_Collection of Cameloids was presented by Mr. Robert S. Brewster._
The arid regions of South America are inhabited by four species of
long-necked, long-haired, soft-footed animals, so closely related to the
camels of the Old World that they are called _cameloids_. There are four
species. The llama and alpaca are in a state of domestication, and are
supposed to have been derived from the wild guanaco and vicunia. All of
them might almost be described as small-sized, humpless camels; and
their tempers and mental traits are as odd as their forms.
The ordinary cameloid is a quiet and inoffensive creature; but the
exception is a rogue of rogues. It will bite with the persistence of a
bull-dog, and with its massive, chisel-like lower incisors inflicts ugly
wounds. At times a llama or vicunia becomes actually insane, and seeks
to destroy every living creature within its reach. Regardless of
punishment, such creatures attack their keepers and their herd-mates,
spit upon visitors, and rage up and down their corrals in most absurd
fashion. Occasionally such individuals require to be completely
isolated.
The Llama, (_Lama glama_), is the largest and strongest member of the
group. Its body is covered with a thick mass of long, wavy hair of fine
texture, which may be either brown, white, white and brown, or almost
black. The head and legs are short-haired like those of the guanaco.
From time immemorial, this animal has been used as a beast of burden,
and in the Andes has played an important part in the mineral industry by
carrying silver ore and bullion from the mines.
The Alpaca, (_Lama pacos_), is bred for its wool. It is smaller than the
llama, but more abundantly haired on the legs, neck and head. Its fleece
is long, and lies in stringy tufts. Usually its color is dark brown or
black, but occasionally a white Alpaca is seen. A white specimen in the
Zoological Park collection has blue eyes.
The Guanaco, (_Lama guanacus_), is one of the most interesting and
valuable wild animals now found in Patagonia. Unfortunately, it is so
stupid and incapable that it is easily killed. The natives of Terra del
Fuego, themselves almost the lowest and most ignorant of men, slaughter
Guanacos for food by surrounding groups of them and clubbing them to
death.
In size the Guanaco is between the llama and vicunia, and its shoulder
height is about 4 feet. Its hair is thick and woolly, of a pale reddish
color, and there are naked patches on the legs. This species is found on
the Andes, from Ecuador to Terra del Fuego, and appears to be most
abundant in Patagonia.
The Vicunia, (_Lama vicunia_), is the only member of the cameloid group
which is not clothed with a mass of long hair. It is the smallest member
of the group, comparatively short-haired, its color is a uniform light
brown, its head is small, and there are no callosities on the hind legs.
The Vicunia is found from southern Ecuador, through Peru to central
Bolivia.
NORTH AMERICAN DEER.
Elk, Mule Deer, White-Tail, Caribou and Moose.
The American members of the Deer Family will be found in the ranges
situated on the hill west of the Wild-Fowl Pond, stretching from the
Llama House northward to the Service Road.
After several years of experiments, we must admit that to all the
American members of the Deer Family save the wapiti white-tailed and
mule deer, the climate of New York City is decidedly inimical. This
densely humid and extremely saline atmosphere is about as deadly to the
black-tail, caribou and moose as it is to the Eskimo; and thus far we
have found it an absolute impossibility to maintain satisfactory herds
of those species in the ranges available for them. In great tracts of
forests, some of them might become acclimatized; but, be that as it may,
all experiments made thus far both here and in two of the great game
preserves of New England, prove conclusively that black-tail deer, mule
deer, caribou, moose, and also prong-horned antelope, are among the most
difficult of all ruminants to acclimatize anywhere in the United States
eastward of the great plains.
Although the Zoological Society will continue its experiments with some
of these preserve species, and will always strive to exhibit some of
them, our original hopes regarding them have been abandoned. We are
certain that the difficulty lies not in the food, but in climate
conditions, that are beyond our control, and especially our very salty
atmosphere.
The American Elk, or Wapiti, (_Cervus canadensis._)—Of all the numerous
members of the Deer Family, this animal is second in size to the moose
only; and in the autumn, when its pelage is bright and luxuriant, its
sides well rounded, its massive antlers clean and held conspicuously
aloft, the elk may justly be called the king of the _Cervidae_. It is
well that in the Yellowstone Park we have an unfailing supply of Elk,
which bids fair to perpetuate this handsome species for another century.
Our Elk Range might well stand for a mountain park, in which is set a
natural lakelet of real value. In October, when the splendid groves of
beech, oak, and maple along the eastern ridge put on all the glorious
tints of autumn, and the big thicket of sumacs, ash, and haw on the
northern hill fairly blaze with scarlet—then are the elk also at their
best. There is no finer picture in animate nature than a herd of elk in
October, with such a setting of greensward, tree-trunk, and foliage.
[Illustration: AMERICAN ELK.]
[Illustration: EUROPEAN RED DEER.]
The maximum shoulder height of the Elk is 5 feet 4 inches, or
thereabouts, and the heaviest weight noted thus far is 927 pounds.
The calves are born from May to July, and are spotted during the first
six months. During the first year the antlers are merely two straight
spikes, called “dag antlers.” As in all members of the Deer Family, the
antlers are shed every year—which to many persons is almost beyond
belief. Any person who visits a zoological garden in midsummer will see
that the old antlers have dropped off bodily, just below the burr, and
that new antlers, covered with hair, soft, full of blood, and with
club-like “points,” have sprung up like mushrooms in place of the old
ones. In supplying the great drain on the system necessary to support
this remarkable growth, the Elk grows thin, and the fear of hurting his
tender young antlers makes him quite timid and inoffensive. He is no
longer the tyrant of the herd, and a constant menace to his keepers.
At this point it is not amiss to call attention to the differences
between _horns_ and _antlers_.
A _horn_ is a hollow sheath, growing over a bony core, and except in the
case of the prong-horned antelope, is never shed. Horns are worn by both
sexes of all bison, buffaloes, cattle, antelope, sheep, and goats.
An _antler_ is of solid bone throughout, growing from the skull; it is
shed every year close to the skull, and quickly renewed. Usually antlers
have several branches. They are worn by nearly all male members of the
Deer Family—moose, elk, caribou, deer, etc., and also by the female
caribou. The prongs on an antler are no index of the wearer’s age. Some
of the finest and most massive elk antlers have only twelve or fourteen
points. During August and September the hairy covering, or “velvet,” of
new antlers is rubbed off against trees and bushes. This period is
quickly followed by the mating season, during which the neck of the bull
becomes unusually large, and often the animal becomes dangerous.
Although the Elk is essentially a timber-loving animal, it also wandered
far into the plains bordering the Rocky Mountains on the east—until
driven from them by man. The ideal home of this animal is the timbered
foothills of our western mountains, up to 8,000 feet. Although once
found from Virginia and New York to Oregon, and from northern Manitoba
to the Gulf of Mexico, it is now numerous only in and adjacent to the
Yellowstone Park, in central Colorado, where it is well protected, and
in western Manitoba. The number of Elk in the National Park is variously
estimated at from 10,000 head to a much larger number.
In a wild state, the Elk feeds on grasses, weeds, and the leaves and
twigs of various trees and shrubs. Of all American deer, it is the most
easy to acclimate and breed in captivity. Large herds are now being
maintained and bred in numerous private game preserves in New Hampshire,
New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and elsewhere. About 200 head have
been released in the Adirondacks.
The Mule Deer, (_Odocoileus hemionus._)—This fine animal is universally
known throughout the Rocky Mountain region, which constitutes its home,
as the “Black-Tailed Deer.” Because of its very large ears, _and the
absence of a black tail_, it is known to naturalists as the Mule Deer.
Inasmuch as its tail is not black, the above more common name properly
applies to _Odocoileus columbianus_, the true black-tailed deer of the
Pacific coast. In Manitoba this animal is called the “Jumping Deer,”
because when running at a gallop, it makes a series of stiff-legged
jumps, or “bucks,” of great length.
The weight of full-grown bucks ranges from 250 to 300 pounds, and
specimens have been known to reach 325 pounds. The antlers of the Mule
Deer are larger and handsomer than those of the white-tailed deer, and
are much better poised on the head. Instead of dropping forward, they
partake more of the set of an elk’s antlers, and many a “tenderfoot”
hunter has mistaken a heavily-antlered Mule Deer for an elk. The antlers
of a Mule Deer are easily distinguished from those of the white-tailed
species by the two Y-shaped prongs on each antler. It will be remembered
that instead of these, the white-tailed deer antler bears three
straight, perpendicular spikes.
The Mule Deer makes its home in rugged ravines and bad lands so common
along the creeks and rivers of the Rocky Mountain region, extending well
eastward into the plains. Of late years it has been driven out of the
most accessible of its former haunts, and forced to take shelter in the
rugged fastnesses of the foothills and mountains. West of the Rocky
Mountains it was formerly found along the whole Pacific slope, from Cape
St. Lucas to British Columbia, although in northern California it is
almost replaced by the Columbian Black-Tail, (_O. columbianus_).
DEVELOPMENT OF THE ANTLERS OF A MALE DEER.
These pictures show the stages of growth of the antlers from the time
the old ones are dropped, to the full development. Number 1 shows the
bull with the one antler gone—picture made early in March. Number 6
shows the full grown antlers, with the velvet hanging in strips. Number
6 was made August 24 of the same year as Number 1. This remarkable
antler development takes place every year in the life of all male deer.
[Illustration: 1.]
[Illustration: 2.]
[Illustration: 3.]
[Illustration: 4.]
[Illustration: 5.]
[Illustration: 6.]
The White-Tailed Deer, (_Odocoileus virginianus_), is the species most
widely known throughout the United States, partly by reason of the fact
that it was the first species with which the early settlers of America
became acquainted, partly because of its wide distribution, and also its
persistence in holding its own. In various localities this animal is
known under various names, such as “White-Tailed Deer,” “Flag-Tailed
Deer,” and “Fan-Tailed Deer.” Although not at all in need of it, quite
recently it has received still another name—American Deer. The small
deer of Florida, and also of New Mexico and the Southwest, have been
described as separate forms; and if size is to be accepted as a factor
in the differentiation of species, the diminutive proportions of the
proposed southern species are quite sufficient to establish their
separate identity.
The White-Tailed deer of Virginia and the northern United States is a
fine animal—large, strong-limbed, heavily-antlered, and hardy. Between
it and the deer of Florida the difference is as great as that between a
setter dog and a mastiff. Thanks to the fact that this species is a born
skulker and lives only in thick brush and timber, it still holds its own
throughout the forest regions of the South generally, Pennsylvania, the
Adirondacks, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana, and
Colorado. In the West it is often found inhabiting brushy ravines and
river bottoms.
This species breeds readily in confinement, and when protected in any
large tract of brush or timber, increases rapidly. During the months of
September, October, and November, the bucks are dangerous and
untrustworthy. The peculiar formation of the antlers—three strong,
spear-like points thrust straight upward from the beam—makes them
dangerous weapons; and when an ill-tempered buck lowers his chin and
drives straight forward with eight sharp spears of solid bone, and
nearly three hundred pounds of weight to back them, he may well be
considered a dangerous animal. He is to be feared less than the elk only
because he is smaller.
The Woodland Caribou, (_Rangifer caribou_).—The first hoofed animal to
arrive at the Zoological Park was a young female of this species, which
was procured in Champlain County, Canada, and forwarded to the Society
by one of our members, Mr. George S. Huntington. These animals, when
present in the Park, will be kept in a small enclosure, because a large
range containing an abundance of green grass is fatal to them.
The wild range of the Woodland Caribou extends from Newfoundland, Nova
Scotia, and Maine, with many wide gaps, to the head waters of the Yukon
River, in southern Alaska. The following localities are worthy of
special mention: northern Quebec and Ontario; James Bay; the northern
end of Lake Winnipeg (occasionally); Lake of Woods, Minnesota; Oregon
near Mount Hood; northern Idaho; northwestern Montana, and the mountains
of British Columbia.
Quite recently, three new species of caribou have been added to our
fauna, one from the Alaskan Peninsula (_Rangifer granti_), one from the
Kenai Peninsula (_Rangifer stonei_), and one from the Cassiar Mountains
(_Rangifer osborni_).
The Woodland Caribou attains nearly twice the bodily bulk of its more
northern congener, the Barren-Ground caribou. In a state of nature it
lives on browse, reindeer moss, tree moss, and lichens, and it loves
ice-covered lakes and ponds as much as any boy. Its loose-jointed and
wide spreading hoofs and enormously developed “dew-claws” have been
specially designed by Nature to enable this animal to run freely, as if
on snow-shoes, over snow or bogs, which to any small-hoofed deer would
be quite impassable.
The female Woodland Caribou is provided with small antlers, which, like
those of the male, are shed and renewed annually.
In the absence of caribou in the Park, visitors are advised to look for
specimens of the Lapland Reindeer, (_Rangifer tarandus_), for we shall
endeavor to keep this genus represented.
THE ZEBRA HOUSES, No. 14.
Although the main building of this installation has not yet been
erected, the plan for the various buildings and corrals has been
approved, and the main building was begun in 1911 and completed in 1912.
The three buildings, and the extensive corrals connecting with them, as
a whole, do justice to the important and picturesque Family _Equidae_,
which includes all the zebras, wild asses and wild horses of the world.
[Illustration: GRANT ZEBRA.]
The Prjevalsky Horses, (_Equus prjevalskii_).—Of all the wild equines
which either now or hereafter may be seen in the Zoological Park, the
strange little wild horses from western Mongolia are, and probably will
remain, the most interesting, from a zoological point of view. Broadly
speaking, they are the connecting link between the many-striped zebras,
the little-striped quaggas and the wild asses on one side, and the
domestic, unstriped horse on the other. These wild horses possess a
narrow, dark dorsal stripe, which, in the winter pelage is scarcely
visible, but in summer is plainly evident. A perfect specimen has an
erect mane, no long forelock and no “chestnuts” on its legs. On the
upper half of its tail the hair is short, and mule-like, but on the
lower, or terminal half, it is long and horse-like. The winter coat of
this animal is very long and shaggy.
Mountain Zebra, (_Equus zebra_).—This species has been nearly
exterminated by man, and is rarely seen in captivity. It inhabits the
mountains of Cape Colony, and it is estimated that only 400 individuals
remain, which now are carefully protected.
[Illustration: PRJEVALSKY HORSES.]
Grevy Zebra, (_Equus grevyi_).—This picturesque species was discovered
in Abyssinia, when Jules Grevy was president of France, and it was named
in his honor. It is of large size, covered with very narrow stripes all
over its body, head and limbs, and its huge ears are of remarkable form.
This species is limited to southern Abyssinia and British East Africa
southward to the Tana River.
Grant Zebra, (_Equus burchelli granti_).—Of all the zebras now seen in
captivity, the great majority belong to what very properly may be
designated as the group of Burchell Zebras. This group contains, besides
the type species, which has practically no stripes on its legs, four
subspecies, whose legs are more or less striped, and which may or may
not possess “shadow stripes” on the hind-quarters. A “shadow stripe” is
a faint, dark stripe in the middle of a wide white or pale yellow stripe
which lies between two broad black stripes.
Grant Zebra is the most heavily striped of the subspecies composing the
Burchell group. The visitor will observe that its horizontal leg-stripes
are very pronounced, and so numerous that they are carried quite down to
the hoofs. The ground-color of the animal is a cold white, and the thigh
and body stripes are very wide and intense. This fine pair was captured
in Masailand, East Africa, in 1902.
Chapman Zebra, (_Equus burchelli chapmani_), also belongs to the
Burchell group, and in its color pattern it approaches quite nearly to
the type. The legs of the male bear a few stripes, those of the female
almost none. There are visible on the hind-quarters of the female a few
faint shadow-stripes.
The Persian Wild Ass, (_Equus persicus_), is a very satisfactory
representative of the wild asses generally. Its dorsal-stripe is very
wide and sharply defined, but it bears no shoulder-stripe, and those
that are faintly indicated on its legs are nothing more than oblong
blotches of dark color. As its name implies, it inhabits Persia, and
Syria, and a closely related form, the Onager, (_E. onager_), is found
in Beluchistan and western India. A third species, the Kiang (_E.
hemionus_), is found on the plains of Tibet.
THE ASIATIC AND EUROPEAN DEER, Nos. 1-3.
In representatives of the deer, (Family _Cervidae_), Asia far surpasses
all other countries. Her species number about 38,—fully double that of
any other continental area,—and from the great Altai wapiti to the tiny
musk deer, the variations in size and form are fairly bewildering. The
entire hill that rises between the Fordham Entrance and Bird Valley,
from Cope Lake to the Zebra Houses, is devoted to the series of houses,
corrals and ranges that are occupied by the deer of Asia and Europe.
It is quite certain that a number of desirable species of Asiatic deer
can successfully be acclimatized in the parks and game preserves of
America, and induced to breed. Almost without an exception they are
strong and vigorous feeders, and they keep fat and sleek when our own
black-tail, mule deer and white-tail mince like pampered epicures, grow
thinner and thinner, and finally die of “malnutrition.”
Believing that the members of the group amply justify the effort, the
Zoological Society has been at considerable pains to bring together a
fine, representative collection of the Old World _Cervidae_ and properly
install its members. Although the series proposed is not quite complete,
it contains such rarities as the Altai Wapiti, Barasingha, Burmese
Thameng, Malay and Indian Sambar, and several others. They are sheltered
by four houses, the largest of which crowns the summit of the hill on
the right of Osborn Walk as the visitor enters from Fordham. For the
visitors’ convenience we will make note of the various species about in
the order of their appearance, and not in zoological sequence.
The Axis Deer, (_Axis axis_), is the handsomest of all the tropical
deer. Indeed, it may even be said to be the only species of the tropics
possessing both form and pelage which are alike pleasing to the eye. In
contrast with the many beautiful and splendidly colored antelopes of
Africa, the deer of the tropics, all round the world, are poorly
provided with those characters which make a handsome animal. With the
sole exception of the Axis Deer, nearly all the other deer of the East
Indies have thin, coarse, dull-colored hair, their antlers are small,
and seldom have more than four points. This is equally true of the deer
of Mexico, Central and South America. Even our own white-tailed deer, so
lusty and fine in the North, becomes in Florida and Texas so dwarfed
that it has now been called a subspecies.
Considering the severe plainness of all the other deer in the tropics,
it is a little strange that the coat of the Axis should be the most
beautiful possessed by any deer. But it is quite true; and apart from
the majesty of the elk, there is no more beautiful sight in cervine life
than the picture offered by a herd of Axis Deer feeding in a sunlit
glade surrounded by forest.
This species adapts itself to out-door life in the temperate zone with
surprising readiness, not even second in that respect to the eland. As a
matter of course the Axis can not withstand the fierce blizzards of
midwinter as do the elk and other northern deer; but a reasonable degree
of care in providing it with a dry barn, and shelter from cold winds,
enables it to live even as far north as northern Germany with perfect
comfort. In winter our Axis Deer barn is moderately heated by a stove.
The Japanese Sika Deer, (_Cervus sika typicus_), is a small
representative of a large group of deer species inhabiting far-eastern
Asia, and known as the Sika Deer group. A ridiculous number of forms
have been described as species and subspecies, of which possibly
one-third are entitled to stand. Some of those on the Asian mainland, as
the Pekin Sika Deer, are much larger than the Japanese Sika, and also
more strikingly colored. The latter species, shown in our northernmost
corral, is about 33 inches in height, and of a dull and uninteresting
smoky-brown color. Its antlers are quite large for a deer so small, and
in the mating season males are sometimes dangerous. This species is very
hardy, breeds persistently, requires no heat in winter, and very rarely
sends a case to the hospital.
[Illustration: AXIS DEER.]
The Fallow Deer, (_Dama vulgaris_), is the type of a distinct group of
deer which are distinguished by the possession of antlers widely
palmated throughout the upper half of the beam. In some old Fallow bucks
the antlers are quite moose-like, and give this small deer an imposing
appearance far out of proportion to its actual size. The weight of a
large buck in prime condition generally is between 180 and 200 pounds,
and its shoulder height is between 36 and 40 inches. The largest antlers
recorded by Mr. J. G. Millais, in his beautiful work on “The British
Deer,” measured 29½ inches in length, 28½ inches spread, width of
palmation 8 inches, and the number of points 14. The extinct Irish elk,
with the most colossal antlers ever carried by a cervine animal, was a
near relative of the two living species of Fallow Deer.
Although a native of northern Africa and the north shore of the
Mediterranean, the Fallow Deer was acclimatized in England and northern
Europe so long ago that the exact date records of the event have
disappeared, and the species is now at home in very many European
forests and game preserves. The deer parks in England possess many fine
herds, but they sometimes exhibit one unfortunate result of long
breeding in a semi-domesticated state—departure from the original type.
The typical Fallow Deer is in winter very dark brown, with light brown
legs and under parts, and in summer light red with white spots—quite
like the axis. From this standard, the variations run from pure white
through the color of the wild type to jet black.
The fine herd in the Zoological Park is the gift of Mr. William
Rockefeller. Six of its original members came from the donor’s herd at
Greenwich, Connecticut, and six were purchased from one of the imperial
parks of Russia, by consent of the Czar, and represent the most hardy
stock obtainable.
[Illustration: BURMESE DEER.]
The Burmese, or Eld Deer, (_Cervus eldi_), also known as the Brow-Antler
Deer, is one of the rarest species to be seen in captivity. Living
specimens are acquired only through special expeditions to northern
Burma. Its most characteristic feature is the antlers of the male, which
sends forward a very long and almost straight brow tine, while the main
beam sweeps backward in the opposite direction, and describes a full
semicircle. The antlers are both very heavy and long for the size of the
animal. The specimens shown here, which are breeding satisfactorily, are
the gift of Mr. William Rockefeller.
The Barasingha Deer, (_Cervus duvauceli_), also called the Swamp Deer,
is to India what the mule deer is to North America. To my mind, the
antlers of the former always suggests the latter species, and in size
the two species are much alike. In summer the coat of the Barasingha is
of a beautiful golden-yellow color, conspicuous from afar, and the
antlers of old males reach a length of from 35 to 41 inches, with three
bifurcations on each beam. The antlers sometimes are shed and renewed
twice in twelve months. With us this species breeds very regularly, and
the offspring mature well.
The Altai Wapiti, (_Cervus canadensis asiaticus_), is, in all
probability, the parent stock of our American elk, but it happens to be
a fact that our species was the first to be discovered by systematic
zoologists, and described. To all visitors who are interested in deer,
the Altai Wapiti—and also the Tashkent Wapiti—are a constant source of
wonder, because of their well-nigh perfect similarity in all points to
our own wapiti, or American elk. Our Asiatic wapiti are exhibited in
ranges connecting with the western rooms of the Asiatic Deer House,
where they have bred twice, and produced two fine fawns. In the rutting
season the males are very cross and dangerous. They are hardy, and
require no heat in winter.
The Indian Sambar, (_Cervus unicolor_), always suggests a tropical
understudy of the Altai wapiti, clad with thin, coarse, bristly hair,
and with shorter and smaller antlers, and a bristly mane all over the
neck. Each antler possesses three points, only. Of all the Old World
_Cervidae_, this species most nearly approaches the size of the Altai
and Tashkent wapiti. It inhabits the hill forests of India, and in
Burma, Siam and farther south it is replaced by the next species.
The Malay Sambar, (_Cervus equinus_), also called—most
inappropriately—the “Horse-Tailed Deer,” very strongly resembles the
preceding species, except that the bristly mane of the former is
generally absent. The antlers of this species are shorter, also, but
very thick in proportion to their length. The Malay Sambar is confined
to the Malay Peninsula and the countries immediately above, and Borneo
and Sumatra.
This species possesses many admirable qualities, and it might be
introduced to advantage in our southern states. It is very even-tempered
and sensible, easily handled, is a vigorous feeder, breeds persistently,
and matures very rapidly; but in every New York winter, it requires some
heat in its barn.
The Maral Deer, (_Cervus maral_), is in appearance like an extra large
red deer or a small elk. It is a midway member of the Wapiti group,
which extends in a somewhat broken chain from Colorado, northward across
Bering Strait to Asia, and thence across Asia and Europe to Scotland. We
have owned a fine pair of Maral Deer, from the Caucasus district, but
they have failed to breed as expected.
The European Red Deer, (_Cervus elaphus_), is an understudy of the
American elk, which it much resembles in form and in habits. Next to the
elk it is the finest living deer, and for many generations has held its
own against the dangers of in-breeding. In the parks and forest
preserves of Great Britain and Europe, it exists abundantly, but only as
private property, subject to the guns of the owner and his friends. This
species has been successfully crossed with the American elk.
Other Asiatic Deer will be found in the Small-Deer House, in the
southern end of the Park.
THE LION HOUSE, No. 15.
As a spectacle of captive animal life, there is none more inspiring than
a spacious, well-lighted and finely-appointed lion house, filled with a
collection of the world’s greatest and handsomest wild beasts. To build
an ideal lion house, and to fill it with a first-class collection of
large felines, are matters involving no little time and much money; but
the sight,—for the millions of visitors,—of lions, tigers, jaguars,
pumas, leopards, cheetahs, black leopards, snow leopards and clouded
leopards, all under one roof, surely is worth what it costs.
The Lion House of the Zoological Park was completed, excepting a few
minor details, early in the year 1903, and was formally opened to the
public in February. It is 244 feet long, 115 feet wide, including the
outdoor cages, and its cost when completed reached $150,000. The
materials of the building are the same kind as those used in the Reptile
House and Primate House, but the animal sculptures, all by Mr. Eli
Harvey, are more abundant and conspicuous than on any other structure
erected heretofore. The building contains 13 indoor cages, and 9 outdoor
cages, and between the two there is free communication. The sizes of the
various cages are as follows:
Interior cages: Largest, 14 feet wide, 22 feet deep; smallest, 13 feet
wide, 14 feet high.
Exterior cages: two end cages, 40×44 feet, 17 feet high; central cage,
40 feet square, 14 feet high; smallest, 13 feet wide, 12 feet deep, 13
feet high.
[Illustration: JAGUAR.]
Excepting for the single fact of having interior and exterior cages, the
Lion House of the Zoological Park is—like the Primate House—an entirely
original development. Its most important new features are as follows:
All cage service, the introducing and withdrawal of animals, is
conducted from the rear, by means of a track underneath the sleeping
dens, and an elevating platform car.
The communication between indoor and outdoor cages is direct and
continuous.
Instead of upright iron bars, all the cage fronts are of hard-steel wire
netting, in rectangular pattern, attached to wrought iron frames. This
is considered by the Zoological Society a great improvement upon the
heavy bar-work hitherto in universal use for cage fronts in lion houses.
[Illustration: CHEETAH.]
The space above the sleeping dens has been developed as a sunlit
balcony, whereon the animals will be very conspicuous, even to large
crowds of visitors.
Jungle-green tiling, impervious to moisture and dirt, is used as a
back-ground for the animals.
The Lion is an animal of perpetual interest, but like every other
noteworthy wild animal, its haunts are constantly being claimed by
civilization, and its members are rapidly decreasing. It is not a
difficult matter to exterminate or drive out from a given territory any
large and conspicuous quadruped, and at the present rate of settlement
and industrial development in Africa, it may easily come to pass that by
the end of the present century, the king of beasts will be without a
home, outside of zoological collections.
Like everything great, the Lion has his share of critics and detractors.
A few writers have asserted that because he does not stalk through his
native forests with head proudly erect, like a drum-major on parade, he
is mean-spirited and cowardly. But the beast of noble countenance
believes in the survival of the fittest, and both by inheritance and
observation he knows that a lion who needlessly exposes himself in the
field captures the smallest amount of game, and attracts the greatest
number of steel-tipped bullets.
[Illustration: BARBARY LION.]
Although Lions vary greatly in their color, and in the length of the
mane, it is conceded by naturalists that only one species exists. In the
same district and under precisely similar conditions are found
short-maned and long-maned individuals, and all shades of color from
tawny yellow to dark brown. The present geographic range of the species
is from Southern Rhodesia to Persia and northwestern India, but in
northern Egypt there is a large extent of territory which is lionless.
By reason of his heavy mane and massive countenance, supported by the
grandest roar that issues from throat of beast, the Lion appears to be a
larger animal than he really is. It is yet an unsettled question whether
it exceeds the tiger in length, height or weight, and it is certainly
true that in point of size these two species are very evenly matched.
In captivity, the Lion is reasonably contented, and under good
conditions breeds readily, and lives a goodly number of years.
The Siberian Tiger.—Strange to say, the tiger ranges far to the
northward of its proper home in Hindustan, even to Corea, Manchuria and
Russian Siberia. In those cold regions the tiger grows to its greatest
size, and is clothed with a dense coat of long and shaggy hair. In
collections, the great northern tigers are the most highly prized. The
Zoological Park has recently acquired from East Siberia two fine young
specimens, born early in 1909, and all the year round they inhabit the
great northern outdoor cage attached to the Lion House. It is a strange
sight to see tigers living outdoors in winter in New York.
[Illustration: SNOW LEOPARD.]
The Tiger will be found upon the earth long after the lion has
disappeared. He is a far better hider, a more skillful hunter, less
given to taking foolish risks, and he does not advertise his presence
and invite his enemies by the bombastic roaring in which the lion
delights to indulge. The Tiger is an animal of serious mind, and he
attends strictly to business. A lion will stalk out into the open, in
broad day, but the Tiger sticks closely to cover until the friendly
darkness renders it safe to roam abroad.
Despite the density of the population of India, and the omnipresence of
sahibs with rifles of large caliber, the Tiger still inhabits all India
from Cape Comorin to the Himalayas, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Burma,
Siam, and certain portions of China up to the region of snows. Corean
and Siberian Tigers are much sought after by zoological gardens, partly
on account of their size, and also because they are so hardy they are
able to live out doors all winter in the temperate zone. The Tiger is
not found in Africa, nor in any country westward of India.
The maximum length attained by this animal, head, body and tail, is 10
feet 2 inches. A very large specimen killed by Dr. Hornaday measured 9
feet 8½ inches in length, stood 3 feet 7 inches high at the shoulders,
and weighed, on the scales, 495 pounds. In India, Tigers are classed
according to their habits, as “game-killers,” “cattle-lifters,” or
“man-eaters.” Fortunately, in comparison with the total number of these
animals, the latter are few and far between.
Of yellow-coated felines, The Jaguar, (_Felis onca_), is next in size to
the tiger. In South America, it is almost universally called “El Tigre”
(pronounced Te’-gre), which is Spanish for tiger. Comparatively few
Americans are aware that this superb animal belongs in the fauna of the
United States, but such is the fact. The northern limit of its
distribution is found in southern Texas, where it still exists in small
numbers. In South America it extends to Patagonia.
The Jaguar is a stocky, heavily-built animal, with a massive head and
powerful forearm. It is a good climber, and many wonderful stories of
its strength have been told and printed. Among leopards of all kinds it
can always be identified by the great size of the black rosettes on its
body, as well as by its heavy build.
The splendid male specimen, named “Senor Lopez,” in honor of a former
President of Paraguay, was the first to arrive for the new Lion House.
It was captured in August, 1901, in the wilds of central Paraguay,
expressly for us, through the efforts of Mr. William Mill Butler, of
Philadelphia, and by him presented to the Zoological Park. After a long
journey in small river craft, in a flimsy wooden cage that several times
came near collapsing, the animal reached Asuncion, was taken to
Liverpool by Mr. Butler, and finally reached New York.
The Leopard, (_Felis pardus_), is fourth in size from the lion, and is
distinguished from the jaguar by smaller spots and less powerful form.
It inhabits both Asia and Africa, from Japan to Cape Colony. While the
species is regarded as the same throughout that vast extent of
territory, it is undoubtedly true that the Leopards of Africa have
smaller spots and more intense coloring than those of Asia. The maximum
size for this species is a total length of 8 feet, which is attained
only by a very large animal, with a long tail.
Naturally, the Leopard preys upon smaller animals than those most sought
by the lion and tiger. It prefers small antelopes, and young animals
generally, goats and sheep. When pursued, it is very skilful in hiding,
and will shelter in brushy cover until fairly beaten out.
The Black Leopard is the most ill-tempered of all feline
animals—perpetually snarling and growling, and seeking to do some one an
injury. Naturalists regard it as of the same species as the common
leopard, (_Felis pardus_), despite the fact that it is found only in
southeastern Asia, and both in appearance and disposition is totally
different from the typical _pardus_. With but few exceptions, the
world’s supply of Black Leopards comes from Singapore.
The Cheetah, or Hunting Leopard, (_Cynaelurus jubatus_), is marked by
its long legs, slender body, small head, small spots, and claws that are
only partially retractile. Its structure suggests that of the dogs. It
is distributed very irregularly through portions of Africa and southern
Asia, and is by no means a common animal like the leopard and tiger.
In central India, this animal is trained to hunt the sasin antelope, a
form of sport indulged in chiefly by native rajahs. The Cheetah takes
kindly to captivity, and permits handling to an extent quite unknown
with other large felines. Its keepers place the animal upon an open
cart, blindfold it, and then drive to within 200 yards of a herd of
antelope. At the point of nearest possible approach, the hood is
removed, and the animal is set free. Leaping to the ground, the Cheetah
stalks the herd of antelope as closely as possible, then makes a sudden
rush forward, and endeavors to seize a victim. If successful, the animal
is pulled down and killed. If not, the Cheetah sullenly retires, and
again places itself in the hands of its friends.
The Snow Leopard, or Ounce, (_Felis uncia_), is the rarest, and also one
of the most beautiful of all the large felines. It inhabits the high
plateau of central Asia from the Himalayas to the Altai Mountains of
Mongolia, above 9,000 feet. It is the neighbor of the Marco Polo sheep,
the giant-horned argali, and the Siberian ibex. In its home country,
this creature is sufficiently numerous that 2,000 tanned skins sometimes
reach Shanghai in a single year, but owing to its great distance from
railways and sea, not more than fifteen or twenty specimens have reached
the zoological gardens of Europe and America. Some individuals are
good-natured and playful, but others are morose.
The Puma, or Mountain Lion, (_Felis concolor_), is the most widely-known
feline in North America. At present it is at home in Florida, Montana,
Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, and all the states westward thereof. Southward
it inhabits Mexico and Central America, and ranges through South America
quite down to southern Patagonia. It attains its maximum size (8 feet in
length, weight 225 pounds) in Colorado, where it appears to be more
numerous than in any other state. In Routt County it is hunted very
successfully with dogs. When pursued, it is compelled to take refuge in
a low tree, in which it can be photographed or shot without danger.
Despite the numerous thrilling stories that have been written and
published about the dangerous doings of this animal, it is by no means
really dangerous to man. No Puma holding an option on a safe line of
retreat ever stops to fight a man.
The Puma was formed for agility rather than strength. It swims well, and
it is the most agile climber of all the large felines. The head of this
animal is particularly beautiful, and its temper in captivity is
entirely satisfactory. The first specimen of this species to enter the
Zoological Park came from Peru, as a gift from Mr. Joseph P. Grace, and
during the years 1901 and 1902 it lived out doors, constantly, in the
Puma House (No. 33A), where its health was excellent.
THE SEA-LIONS, No. 12.
Of all animals which find permanent homes in zoological gardens and
parks, very few afford the public more constant entertainment than
Sea-Lions. They are delightfully active, and in one way or
another—diving, swimming, climbing or hopping about—are nearly always
“showing off.” No one within a quarter of a mile of their pool need
inquire where they are, for their loud and cheerful “Hook! hook! hook,”
is heard far and wide, and draws visitors like a magnet.
The Sea-Lion Pool is situated about in the center of Baird Court.
The California Sea-Lion, or “Barking Sea-Lion,” (_Zalophus
californianus_), is the species most easily caught alive, and the one
usually seen in captivity. Its home is the coast of California, but it
is said to enter the Sacramento River and travel upward for a
considerable distance in pursuit of spawning salmon. Comparatively few
Sea-Lions are now found on the mainland coast of California. On the
United States Light-House reservations their slaughter is prohibited by
the Light-House Board.
The California Sea-Lion is very similar in size, and, leaving the old
males out of consideration, it is almost the exact counterpart in form
of that apple of perpetual international discord—the Alaskan “fur seal.”
The unfortunate fact that the latter animal has become known as a
“seal,” has caused much confusion in people’s minds regarding the
classification of pinnipeds (fin-footed animals) generally. For this
reason, it is proper to observe at this point that:
_Sea-Lions_ have flat, triangular, naked front flippers, without claws;
they have long necks, and carry their heads high. There are nine
species, of which the so-called “fur seal” is one.
_Seals_ always have short and stubby front flippers, which are covered
with hair, and provided with claws. In most species the hair is coarse
and valueless. The seal has a very short neck and by reason of the
weakness of its front flippers, it is not nearly so active nor so
interesting as the sea-lion.
[Illustration: ATLANTIC WALRUS.]
The Atlantic Walrus inhabits the arctic regions between America and
Europe, and it is estimated that not more than ten specimens ever have
been exhibited in captivity. Because of their unusual feeding habits,
Walruses are very difficult to keep alive. Their standard food is clams;
and frequently clams are very difficult to obtain. The Atlantic Walrus
grows to great size, probably exceeding 4,000 pounds in weight. The
specimen exhibited in the rocky pool near the Reptile House was
presented by Mr. Paul J. Rainey, in 1911, and has thriven continuously
ever since its arrival. It was captured in Kane Basin, north of Baffin’s
Bay.
The Harbor Seal, (_Phoca vitulina_), is the species common along our
Atlantic coast, and since it serves so well as a type of hair seals, or
true seals, it will occasionally be shown in the Park. In comparison
with the active and vivacious sea-lion, it is a tame and rather
uninteresting creature; but neither has any commercial value, save for
the purposes of exhibition when alive.
THE PRIMATE HOUSE, No. 17.
The Primates are the four-handed animals belonging to the zoological
order called by that name, which includes man, the anthropoid apes both
great and small, the baboons, monkeys and lemurs. The word “monkey” is
by no means sufficiently comprehensive to embrace all these forms. Were
it otherwise, this building would be called, officially, the Monkey
House.