CHAPTER XXX. 



NOTES FROM THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 



ARRANGING the following examples, not so much 

 in chronological sequence as in elucidation of 

 special facts, I will first give some cases of venomous 

 serpents killing themselves and each other. My notes 

 began in 1872, after the interest so strongly awakened in 

 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, when those tame snakes were fed 

 to gratify our curiosity (see Introduction). 



Holland was then the keeper at the Reptile House of 

 the London Zoological Society's Gardens, and had occupied 

 this place upwards of twenty years, gathering much experi- 

 ence and knowledge of reptilian habits. Incidents known 

 to him, when not witnessed by myself, may therefore be 

 received as trustworthy. 



On Sunday, July 20th, 1S73, a 'River Jack' {Vipcra 

 rJiinoceros), from West Africa, really did kill itself, though 

 the act can scarcely be called intentional * suicide.' It was 

 from dashing its head against its cage either in anger or 

 pain. Holland was of opinion that it had been severely 



2 N 



