66 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



has experienced, and he does not propose to have his views de- 

 liberately thrust aside by persons outside the Zoological Society 

 who never in their lives have taken the trouble to study the va- 

 rious sides of elephant character, and who never have been 

 required to associate with bad elephants. 



As a case in point, we recall a visit from a gentleman who 

 last summer vehemently assured the Director that for years 

 past he had been visiting all the zoological gardens of Europe 

 and America, that he knew all the keepers, knew all the captive 

 elephants in Europe, and that he knew of his own personal 

 knowledge that no elephant ever had been chained as Gunda is, 

 etc., etc. And yet, until we told him the fact he never once had 

 heard or known that for the past twenty years old "Bolivar" was 

 kept chained in his stall in the Philadelphia Zoological Gardens, 

 by all four feet, and no one ever made any fuss about it! 



In several of the unjust and insulting letters that were writ- 

 ten to the New York Times, and printed therein (down to a date 

 as late as Jan. 13), there was displayed much gross ignorance; 

 and in several serious misrepresentations were made. For ex- 

 ample, it was persistently stated that we had chained Gunda as 

 a "punishment," and in "revenge" for his attacks on the keepers. 

 All such statements were wickedly false, and most unjust to the 

 keepers and the Director of the Park ; but apparently to people 

 who are in the habit of writing and publishing falsehoods and 

 insults, those are "trifles, light as air." Gunda never was pun- 

 ished for any of his misdeeds! His chains were necessary to 

 make it possible to keep him alive and in good health, and to 

 avoid killing him prematurely. The "Park authorities" never 

 have made any "promise" or "promises" whatsoever regarding 

 Gunda. 



Some persons affect to believe that Gunda would rather be 

 killed than to live as we keep him; which merely reveals the 

 depth of individual ignorance regarding wild animals to which 

 some human minds can descend. In every other business in 

 life, it is conceded that there is such a thing as expert knowledge, 

 derived from education, observation and experience. Regarding 

 wild animals, however, there are persons who seem to think that 

 this condition does not exist. If a director of a "zoo" should at- 

 tempt to tell an editor how to run his newspapers, the director 

 would be regarded as a fit candidate for a lunacy commission; 

 but some persons instantly can assume that they know all about 

 wicked elephants, and are competent to give directions regard- 

 ing their management. 



