ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



609 



build dams and build bouses, at will. The 

 other consists of Beavers maintained in the 

 cages of the Small-Mammal House, and one 

 of the (Jtter Pools, in such a manner that thev 

 can always be seen by visitors during davlight 

 hours. 



Muskrats, in a wild state, originally were so 

 numerous in the Zoological Park that it was 

 necessary to reduce their number. When kept 

 in close confinement they fight fiercely, and as 

 exhibition animals they are anything but satis- 

 factory. As representatives of the respective 

 groups to which they belong, we endeavor to 

 maintain constantly in our collections the 

 Canada Porcupine, Woodchnck. Prairie "Dog" 

 and Pocket Gopher. 



The rare and little known SezveUcl from the 

 Far West, — which is not nearly so well 

 known in New York as the Okapi, — we have 

 possessed and exhibited ; but for exhibition 

 purposes this species is not of commanding 

 interest to the average visitor, and but poorly 

 repays the effort that its presence involves. 



The Squirrels are far more satisfactory ; for, 

 being full of the joy of life, they are constantly 

 in evidence. Our best exhibit of Gray Squir- 

 rels is found, not in our squirrel cages, but 

 running free in the Park, where scores of them 

 daily go to and fro in the course of their regu- 

 lar work, to the constant entertainment of 

 our visitors. 



The Red Squirrels of the Zoological Park 

 grounds became such an imbearable nuisance, 

 in the destruction of birds' nests and young, 

 and by threatening to drive out the Gray 

 Squirrels, that we were obliged to reduce their 

 number to a reasonable limit. 



Our efforts to acclimatize the Fox Squirrel 

 in the Zoological Park thus far have not met 

 with success. The species does not enjov oc- 

 cupying territory as a joint tenant with the 

 Gray Squirrel and the Red. The Spermophiles 

 that are so very destructive in certain portions 

 of the West, we have been at some pains to 

 represent here bv some of the most destructive 

 species, — Franklin's. Richardson's and the 

 Thirteen-Lined Spermophile. In the Small- 

 Mammal House there may always be seen 

 several species of Chipmunks, that represent 

 various localities between New York and Cali- 

 fornia. 



Our efforts to exhibit representatives of the 

 Jack-Rabbit group have been unsatisfactory. 

 Young animals do not mature well, and those 

 which are caught adult and sent here despite 

 their protests, nearly always brain themselves 

 against the wire walls of their cages during 

 the first fortnight after their arrival. 



Within a short time we will exhibit a large 

 series of wild -Mice and Rats, the nucleus of 

 which is already in hand, and will soon be 

 placed on exhibition. 



Both in species of mammals and in abun- 

 dance of individuals, South America is poor 

 to the verge of poverty. For a continent so 

 great, so varied in topography and climate, and 

 so rich in food for wild animals, her mam- 

 malian fauna is very meagre. The collector 

 who goes to any portion of South America 

 must work his heart out in order to secure even 

 a fair showing of results. Take, for ex- 

 ample, the Ungulates (hoofed animals), with 

 which North America, Asia and Africa are so 

 richly stocked. In comparison with the output 

 of those three continents, the procession of 

 cameloids and deer from South America is 

 painfully small. 



It is easy for any collector to secure all four 

 of the cameloid species from the Andean re- 

 gion, — Llama, Alpaca, Guanaco and \'icunia, 

 —and it is also easy to keep them alive. 

 Strange to say, they are as quarrelsome as the 

 worst of the carnivores, and to anyone not 

 familiar with their habits in captivitv, the 

 fierceness of the combats between the adult 

 males is almost beyond belief. 



Of the very few species of deer found in 

 South America, we have procured and ex- 

 hibited the large SziVJiip Deer and the small 

 Pampas Deer; but in this latitude both are so 

 delicate in captivity that it is impossible to keep 

 them on hand continuously. Of all the South 

 American mammals, the Tapir is the most 

 satisfactory to exhibit in captivity. It is pic- 

 turesque and interesting, it lives long, and it 

 breeds in captivity with the utmost readiness 

 and persistence. 



Of the Carnivores, the Jaguar is by far the 

 most conspicuous, and our large male speci- 

 men, called "Senor Lopez," has been in our 

 possession for about eight years. The South 

 American Puma, the Ocelot and the Coati- 

 Mundi, are constantly on exhibition ; but the 

 little round-spotted Margay Cat is rare and 

 intermittent. After ten years of continuous 

 eft'orts, we have at last secured a bear from 

 South America, representing the Andean 

 Black Bear species, and a relative of the 

 Spectacled Bear. Thus far, however, the 

 Spectacled Bear has eluded our most strenuous 

 efforts. The Crab-Eating Raccoon. Azara's 

 Dog, the Patagonian Fox, and the Kinkajou, 

 almost complete the list of our South American 

 carnivores. 



W'hile the Rodents of South America are 

 comparatively few in number of species, they 



