EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT 77 



nearly ten years, which is considerably above the average life 

 of captive giraffes. One death was the result of valvular heart 

 troubles with attendant enervation, and the other was due to heat 

 apoplexy. An order was at once placed with Carl Hagenbeck for 

 new giraffes and a fine young male Nubian specimen, eleven 

 feet six inches high, arrived November twenty-second. With 

 this animal we received a pair of young yaks — the first of the 

 species to be exhibited in the Park, a male Lelwel hartebeest, 

 two snow leopards, and a black tree-kangaroo. 



One of the most valuable accessions of the year was a fine, 

 large male white-handed gibbon, the first really good representa- 

 tive of its genus that ever has reached the Park. The large 

 lemur cage has been wholly devoted to the new ape, and fitted 

 up to enable the gibbon to display its wonderful swinging mode 

 of progression. 



The usual number of duplicates among the hoofed animals 

 were sold during the past year, among these being eight elk, two 

 fallow deer, three axis deer and one bison. The status of our 

 bison herd was materially changed by the gift of the New York 

 Zoological Society to the American Bison Society of fourteen 

 fine animals, shipped to the Wind Cave National Park. These 

 animals left the Park on the morning of November 25. The herd 

 contained four adult cows, three young cows, one particularly 

 fine breeding bull, one five-year-old bull and five young bulls, 

 a total of fourteen animals. 



A few changes were made by the transfer of animals during 

 the past year. The large Rocky Mountain sheep ram, from 

 Alberta, was removed from its temporary quarters in the Zebra 

 House, and placed on permanent exhibition in the north- 

 erly corral of Mountain Sheep Hill where new fences and a new 

 shelter had been constructed especially for it. Additional ex- 

 amples of the Grant, Chapman and Grevy Zebras were placed 

 on exhibition in the Zebra House. 



A number of particularly interesting specimens were added 

 to the collection in the Small Mammal House, among them being 

 the echidna, tenrec, spiny tenrec, African hedgehog, several 

 tropical rodents and a tree-kangaroo. 



The following were the most important births during the 

 year: 



1 Eland 2 Virginia Deer 



1 Persian Ibex 6 Fallow Deer 



