6l4 WILD ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY. 



genera are mentally, so to speak, far removed from each other ; some of 

 them are capable, by training and education, of being taught and made to 

 understand the various duties that the teacher imposes upon them ; while 

 others, as among ourselves, are found devoid of the power of learning. 



The trainers of monkeys well know the species best adapted to their 

 various purposes. 



Another habit, or rather j)ractice, of the larger monkeys 

 mentioned by Bartlett. and repeatedly observed by me, is that of 

 yawning in order to show a new arrival their powerful canine 

 teeth, and Bartlett interprets this as a warning or threat to the 

 new-comer. They are quarrelsome in the extreme, and yet I 

 have known Macaque Monkeys and even Baboons to be quite 

 amiable in disposition. 



Carnivora. 



The following is Bartlett's opinion of a somewhat singular 

 fact :— 



The Lion (Fclis Ico) appears to breed more freely than any other 

 species of Felis, and the number of young at a birth is greater, not un- 

 frequently four, and sometimes five, being produced in a litter. 



It is remarkable that these animals lireed more freely in travelling- 

 collections (wild beast shows) than in Zoological Gardens; prol)ably the 

 constant excitement and irritation produced by moving from place to 

 place, or change of air may have considerable influence in the matter. 



This is a strange and certain fact, and is as true to-day as 

 it was in Bartlett's days. In South Africa I have found it so. 

 The Lions and the Tigers in the Zoological Gardens do not breed 

 nearly so freely as those in the travelling menageries and cir- 

 cuses which have toured the country, and Bartlett's explanation 

 may be the right one. However, temperament may also have 

 something to do with it, and when a Zoological Garden has the 

 fortune to obtain a good captivity-breeding strain, the birth-rate 

 is as prolific as that of most menageries, as, for instance, the 

 Dublin Zoological Garden, famed for its Lion breeding; and here, 

 in South Africa, the Johannesburg Garden has certainly beaten 

 Pretoria in this direction. 



The members of the cat tribe are not famous for their 

 fidelity or trustworthiness, so far as popular belief is concerned ; 

 but the larger members of the family, at any rate, belie the repu- 

 tation of the smaller to a great extent. The following is the 

 late Carl Hagenbeck's opinion on this point: — 



It is a complete mistake to suppose that carnivores are vicious by 

 nature ; they are susceptible to kindness and good treatment, and will 

 repay trust with trust. 



Lions and Tigers, especially the former. v,-ould seem to be 

 more to be trusted than Leopards and Lynxs, at least that is my 

 experience. It was Carl Hagenbeck who first brotight the 

 variability of animal nature into prominence in the training of 

 animals, and by means of selection according to tem])erament, 

 he was able to prove that wild animals could be trained with 

 much less harshness and cruelty than was thought possible b}' 



