130 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
BLOOD FILARIA OF SEA-LION. 
A visitation of this strange infection of the blood of aquatic 
mammals made its appearance in the early spring, and destroyed 
one after another the inmates of our sea-lion pool. 
Like similar conditions not infrequently observed in man, and 
by no means rare in the domesticated dog, especially in eastern 
countries, the symptoms were so sudden as to give little time 
for study. While hemal vermin of this order, especially in the 
dog, is usually marked by such inconstancy of typical symptoms 
as to be rarely diagnosed with certainty, pneumonia appeared in 
all these cases. 
The animals, which were in prime condition, were suddenly 
noticed to refuse food and exercise, and died in collapse within 
comparatively few hours after their first symptoms of illness. 
Autopsy revealed broncho-pneumonia, sometimes lobar, at 
others lobular in nature, all other organs being in very healthy 
state, the liver only excepted, which showed traces of fattiness 
incidental to captive life. 
The right side of the heart contained numerous filaria, as did 
also the pulmonary arteries. 
The rapid succession of deaths in these animals, the quantity 
and repeated changing of the water in their pool, along with 
the infrequency of anything resembling a real epidemic, even in 
kennels of dogs in this country where the worm is seen, and such 
endo-parasites having been discovered in dolphins and porpoise 
as well as seal taken in the open sea, all warrant me in presup- 
posing their infection to have been accomplished by taking the 
antecedent through the ingestion of raw herring and certain other 
fish which are well known to be the carriers of such crysts; 
whether this infection took place within the Park or at a period 
prior to the purchase of these animals it would be impossible at 
this time to state. 
Treatment in such cases is from many reasons impossible, and 
can only be along preventive lines, as frequent renewal of 
water, better knowledge of their diet, sterilizing of pools at 
suitable intervals, etc. The latter was most thoroughly per- 
formed with crude carbolic acid previous to the renewal of the 
animals. 
This somewhat extensive report upon the above states of con- 
tagion which have actually been prevalent cannot fail to engage 
the attention of those vitally interested on the study of animals, 
both in the wild and captive state, especially as I have some rea- 
