NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK HOLLISTER 251 



the most common and constantly imported species are of irregular 

 occurrence, and few may be had at the moment no matter how much 

 money may be available for their purchase. The first considera- 

 tion, then, is the health of the animal; contentment and health 

 being necessary to long survival, and if the unusual species are 

 to be shown regularly and for long periods the most expert care is 

 often necessary to maintain in proper condition the specimens that 

 may be secured. 



Few persons realize how much ingenuity and resourcefulness are 

 regularly expended to make wild animals the healthy and contented 

 pets they usually become in captivity. The individual animal, as 

 well as the species, must be studied. Some do best in large inclosures ; 

 some best in smaller cages. It is frequently found that certain 

 parrots and other birds, perhaps reared from nestlings by some 

 native woman, are extremely unhappy in large cages, refuse food, 

 and would soon die unless promptly returned to a small cage. Then 

 they are obviously very happy again and most often live for many 

 years in perfect health and contentment. An exceptionally fine 

 puma in the National Zoological Park, most contented and thrifty in 

 a small old-fashioned cage— one of the first cages ever built in the 

 park and scarcely larger than a circus wagon cage — simply " went 

 to pieces" and refused to eat anything whatever when transferred 

 to a fine, large, airy, outdoor inclosure. He was promptly returned 

 to his dingy old cage, greatly to his delight and benefit; in a short 

 time he was fat and sleek again. 



It was once advocated by a famous animal lover that wild animals 

 in captivity should be changed frequently to strange cages, where 

 they could enjoy new surroundings and a different view. All ex- 

 perienced animal keepers know the fallacy of this argument. Ani- 

 mals grow to feel safe and contented in familiar, even though 

 restricted, quarters; but are frequently greatly distressed and upset 

 in strange surroundings or when any unusual activities are going on 

 about them. If animals were frequently changed the loss would be 

 great. Contented animals in small quarters very often live far 

 beyond the age usual to wild animals of the same kind. Few persons 

 realize the home-loving character of wild animals, and how limited 

 the normal ranges of individuals are, unless the creatures are driven 

 from place to place by predatory beasts and man. Every wild animal 

 is continually searching for a " safety zone," and this is exactly what 

 quarters in a well-conducted zoological park supply. 



THE NATIONAL COLLECTIONS 



. There are now nearly 1,700 animals in the collection of the Na- 

 tional Zoological Park, including mammals, birds, and reptiles. The 



