Report on the National Zoological Park 



Sir : I have the honor to submit the following report on the condi- 

 tion and operations of the National Zoological Park for the fiscal year 

 ended June 30, 1963 : 



GIFTS 



A number of accessions to the animal collection were due to the 

 generosity of friends of the National Zoological Park, On January 6, 

 1963, a fine Bengal tiger arrived from the zoo in Ahmedabad, India, 

 as a gift from Kalph Scott of Wasliington and Miami Beacli. Al- 

 though Samson is a noniially colored tiger, he carries the white genes, 

 being both half-brother and uncle to Mohini, the Zoo's white tigress. 

 Samson was bred under the direction of the Maharajah of Rewa. The 

 two animals are now living together, and it is hoped that they will 

 produce white cubs. 



Edward D. Sweeney and Ralph E. Becker, both of Washington, pre- 

 sented a pair of husky yoimg polar bears which they acquired on a 

 voyage to the Arctic last summer. 



The U.S. Air Force retired Ham, the chimpanzee astronaut, which 

 on January 31, 1961, soared through space in a capsule boosted by an 

 83-foot Redstone rocket. Ham's 16-minute ride took him to a height 

 of 155 miles and a distance of 420 miles down the coast from Cape 

 Canaveral. He seems to have adjusted nicely to his comparatively 

 quiet routine in the Zoo's ape quarters, which he entered on April 5, 

 1963. 



The U.S. Forest Service captured a young adult female (cinnamon 

 phase) American black bear, which was flown to Washington from 

 New Mexico and installed in a cage adjoining that of the famous 

 Smokey Bear. The formal presentation was made on September 8 

 by New Mexico Forester Ray L. Bell on behalf of the Department 

 of Game and Fish and the New Mexico State Land Office, the Ghost 

 Ranch Museum, and the Governor and Senators of New Mexico. 

 "Goldie," soon to be "Mrs. Smokey," was accepted on behalf of the 

 Smithsonian Institution by Dr. Carmichael. 



The State of Hawaii sent a pair of nene, or Hawaiian geese. A 

 few years ago these birds were threatened with extinction by hunters 

 and predators. The State Fish and Game Division undertook a pro- 

 gram of propagating the birds in captivity and then releasing them 

 to join wild birds in sanctuary areas on Hawaiian volcanoes, and the 



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