106 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1955 



An African dormouse {Graphiurus murinus)^ an attractive little 

 mouselike creature, was sent to the Zoo by Dr. Lawrence Kilham of the 

 National Institutes of Health from his Entebbe, Africa, headquarters. 

 Dr. Kilham also sent two specimens of the black-and-white casqued 

 hornbill {Bycanistes suhcylindricus) , a rare species of showy birds. 



Two eider ducks {Somateria mollissima) were obtained by exchange. 



The bird collection was also enriched by s^Decimens of the Mahali 

 weaver {Plocefosser mahali) and cliff chat {Tham/nolaea ci/nna- 

 momeiventris) . 



Six African chameleons {Ohamaeleon dilepis) were hatched on 

 June 23, 1955, from eggs laid April 2, 1955. Perhaps other estab- 

 lishments have had African chameleons lay eggs that hatched, but 

 this Zoo is unaware of such an event. 



OUTSTANDING GIFTS 



The outstanding gift of the year was a pair of baby gorillas 

 {Gorilla gorilla) presented to the National Zoological Park by Kus- 

 sell Arundel, of Warrenton, Va., a longtime friend of the Zoo. They 

 were captured by the Arundel Expedition in French Equatorial 

 Africa, near the Belgian Congo. In the Belgian Congo they were 

 cared for in the home of John L. Biname, then director of the Zoo 

 at Leopoldville, and at Antwerp in the home of Walter Van den 

 Bergh, head of the Zoo there, so they received especially good atten- 

 tion on their trip to the States. The male, "Nikumba," weighed 17 

 pounds and the female, "Moka," weighed 20 pounds on arrival. These 

 are the first gorillas the Zoo has had since 1932 and are highly de- 

 sirable additions to the collection. They are thriving and are popular 

 entertainers, as they are very active. 



The Hon. Charles S. Thomas, Secretary of the Navy, presented to 

 the National Zoological Park 7 emperor penguins {Aptenodytes 

 forsteri) and 4 Adelie penguins {Pygoscelis adeliae). These birds 

 had been obtained by Navy explorers while on an Antarctic expedi- 

 tion on the U. S. S. A tka with Commander Glen Jacobsen in charge. 

 Emperors are the largest living penguins, and this group, together 

 with the king penguins received a few days before, made an outstand- 

 ing exhibit. At the request of Secretary Thomas two of the emper- 

 ors were turned over to the Bronx Zoo in recognition of the assistance 

 given by the New York Zoological Society in transporting the birds 

 from Miami to Washington. 



The Ambassador of Pakistan, Syed Amjad Ali, presented a beauti- 

 ful young jungle-caught Bengal tiger through the Foreign Operations 

 Administration. 



The Japanese Ambassador Sadao Iguchi presented to Secretary of 

 Defense Charles E. Wilson a pair of long-tailed fowl {Gallus gallvs) 

 which are being kept on display in the National Zoological Park. 



