176 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1961 



Fronts of the other great-ape cages, used by chimpanzees and orang- 

 utans, were moved back to allow for more keeper space between the 

 bars and the glass. Formerly there was a possibility that a chimpan- 

 zee might reach out through the bars and seize a keeper passing by. 

 While tliis work was being done, the interior of the cages was 

 brightly painted. 



Eemodeling of the alligator and crocodile exhibit in the reptile 

 house was done primarily for safety reasons, but resulted in an im- 

 provement in the general appearance. The old coping was removed, 

 and 14-inch glass fronts installed up to a height of 8 feet. A 42-inch 

 guard rail prevents the visitors from tapping on the glass. Inward- 

 curving spikes keep the alligators back from the glass. A child with 

 a 28-inch eye level is able to see all but 10 inches of the water. 



In the small-mammal house, the old guard rail was topped with an 

 angled railing that keeps visitors back and makes it impossible for 

 them to reach over and put fingers in the cages. 



An attractive new exhibit during the summer of 1961 was the in- 

 stallation of a group of 10 capuchin monkeys on a small island in the 

 waterfowl pond near the crossroads. Trees were cut back so that there 

 is no possibility of the monkeys' jmnping from branch to branch to 

 freedom, and the surrounding water is sufficient barrier to keep them 

 from climbing the low fence that surrounds the area. With a small 

 tree-house shelter against inclement weather, the monkeys have done 

 well, and the ducks and geese have accepted the new arrivals with 

 equanimity. 



"Beaver Valley," the wooded ravine below the bear dens, which fell 

 into disuse during World War II, was finally restored, and new pools 

 and fencing put in. In addition to the large beaver pond, on which a 

 pair of mute swans raised their young, there are pools for harbor 

 seals, otters, and other aquatic mammals. 



Three dens in the main bear line were repaired with reinforced 

 concrete floor slabs, copings, gutters, partition walls, and ironwork. 

 Five cages in the short bear line above the reptile house were also re- 

 paired. This meant breaking up old deteriorated concrete walkways, 

 floor slabs, and pools, and replacing them with new concrete. 



Major alterations were made to the interior of the old cookhouse, 

 which will now be used as an operating room for animals. An exten- 

 sion to the parking area fronting the pachyderm house was completed, 

 and repairs were made to holes in the main roadways. A new floor 

 was installed in the director's office, as the old one had been badly 

 damaged by termites, and the office was painted. 



There was constant repair to old water and sewer systems, to electric 

 lines, heating lines, steam bypasses and return lines, and boilers in the 

 central heating plant. Some new heating lines, conduits, sewer lines. 



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