288 THE MINDS AND MANNERS 



To visitors, a happy and contented community of deer, ante- 

 lopes, bears, wolves, or birds is a source of far more mental 

 satisfaction than could be found in any number of solitary 

 animals. A small pen with a solitary animal in it at once 

 suggests the prison-and-prisoner idea, and sometimes arouses 

 pity and compassion rather than pleased admiration. The 

 peaceful herd or flock is the thing to strive for as the highest 

 ideal attainable in an exhibition of wild animals. But mark 

 well the difficulties. 



All the obstacles encountered in carrying out the community 

 idea are created by the evil propensities of the animals themselves. 

 Among the hoofed animals generally, every pair of horns and 

 front hoofs is a possible storm-center. No keeper knows 

 whether the members of his herd of deer will live together in 

 peace and contentment until tomorrow, or whether, on any 

 autumn or winter night, a buck will suddenly develop in his 

 antlered head the thought that it is a good time to "kill 

 something." 



In the pairing season we always watch for trouble, and 

 the danger signal always is up. In October a male elk may 

 become ever so savage, and finally develop into a raging 

 demon, dangerous to man and beast; but when he first manifests 

 his new temper openly and in the broad light of day, we feel 

 that he is treating fairly both his herd-mates and his keepers. 

 If he gives fair warning to the world about him, we must not 

 class him as a mean criminal, no matter what he may do later 

 on. It is our duty to corral him at night according to the 

 violence of his rage. If we separate him from the herd, and 

 he tears a fence in pieces and kills his rival, that is honest, 

 open warfare, not foul murder. But take the following case. 



In October, 1905, the New York Zoological Park received 

 from the state of Washington a young mule deer buck and 

 two does. Being conspicuous members of the worst species 

 of "difficult" deer to keep alive at Atlantic tidewater, and 

 being also very thin and weak, it required the combined efforts 



