90 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



Through the good offices of the consul at Winnipeg, Manitoha, a fine pair of 

 young moose was procured for the park, and the consul at St. Johns, Newfound- 

 land, has undertaken to procure a pair of the little-known Newfoundland caribou 

 {Rangifer terrsc-nonr) . Mr. K. K. Kenneday, consul at Para, Brazil, secured a 

 valuable collection of eighteen small mammals and birds from his excellency the 

 governor of the province. A large female tapir belonging to this collection died en 

 route. 



Other contributors have been as follows: 



Brig. Gen. James TI. Wilson, U. S. V., commanding the Department of Matanzas 

 and Santa Clara, Cuba: Ten flamingoes, and on iK'half of (ien. Dantin y Feliz, a 

 pair of jutia-conga. 



Lieut. Commander \V. H. H. Southerland, U. S. N., commanding U. 8. S. >S'ro?'- 

 'plnn: Two crab-eating raccoons, obtained off the mouth of the Orinoco River. 



Lieut. AVilliam A. Lieber, jr., U. S. A. : A black ape and a moor macaque, obtained 

 by him while serving in the Philippines. 



Lieut. Roger Welles, jr., U. S. N. : A young Baird's tajiir, o))tained on the Isthmus 

 of Panama. 



Capt. George F. Chase, U. S. A. : A Philippine deer. 



Alfred Benitz, Calchaqui, Argentine Republic, through James JI. Avers, United 

 States consul at Rosario, a very fine female white-lipped peccary. 



Maj. Charles A. P. Hatfield, U. S. A., Puerto Principe, Cuba, on behaU' of Ids 

 daughter, Miss Helen Hatfield, two jutia-conga and one sandhill crane. 



The advent of these specimens and of others from domestic sources has taxed the 

 park very severely to supply the necessary quarters. In several preceding repoi'ts 

 attention has been drawn to the fact that there is not at present in the park any 

 adequate housing provided for birds, reptiles, or small mammals. The larger cats 

 are well housed, but for other classes the accommodations are insufficient. Animals 

 from widely different regions, accustomed to different surroundings, temperature, 

 and protection, are crowded together in a single building with the same conditions 

 of heating, lighting, ventilation, and shelter. While the park has the nucleus of an 

 excellent collection of aquatic birds, there are no suitable quarters for them during 

 winter and they are then deprived of the proper bathing facilities. In consequence 

 of this the whole of the fine group of flamingoes received from Cuba was lost. The 

 parrots and macaws are necessarily placed during winter on top of the other cages 

 within the principal animal house. In this situation they are not properly protected 

 and the mortality is consequently far above what it should be. 



The reptiles of the park are in no better case. The rare and curious specimens of 

 the giant tortoise from the Galapagos Islands are housed in an office room wholly 

 unsuited for them, with but little sun and insufficiently ventilated. Many visitors 

 never see these strange and remarkable animals. The alligators are unreasonably 

 crowded, and often injure each other in consequence. There 1)eing no room for 

 tanks for other amphil)ious c;reatures, no attempt has T)een made to obtain the rapidly 

 disappearing American crocodile or any of the large sea turtles of our coast. The 

 collection of snakes is very badly crowded, one case sufficing for the great tree 

 snakes — pythons, boas, and anacondas being crowded together in a manner that is 

 uncomfortable for the animals and confusing to the public. All this is in marked 

 contrast to the practice in the best zoological gardens elsewhere, which have reptile 

 houses with glass cages, in which the animals can receive proper attention and have 

 earth, water, and sunlight. The recently constructed reptile house at the New York 

 Zoological Park cost $48,000, and is one of the chief attractions of the place. 



The small mammals are so inadequately housed that visitors have complained of 

 certain cases. Many of them have no outside yards, and nothing can be done toward 

 providing them with natural surroundings or with secluded breeding cages. In this 

 the cardinal principle that was in view at the establishment ol the park is violated, 



