434 Menagerie of the Zoological Society. 



compared with the object to be obtained, and which could be 

 so readily raised by a little activity on the part of the friends 

 of science in this country.* — Ed. 



Additions to the Menagerie of the Zoological Society. — The 

 Zoological Society has just been presented by the Hon. Sir 

 Frederic Adam with a fine tiger, and one of the immense 

 Indian land tortoises, Testudo indicus Shaw, both of which 

 were safely transported from the docks to the Regent's Park, 

 on Saturday last. The collection of the larger Carnivora now 

 at the Regent's Park, of the feline tribe, includes three tigers, 

 one lion, five leopards, and four pumas. Within the last few 

 days a female rhinoceros has been placed in the gardens, an 

 extremely fine young animal, though not more than half the 

 size of the male, which has been several years in the Society's 

 possession, and is now attaining enormous dimensions. This 

 we believe is the first instance on record of a pair of rhino- 

 ceroses (male and female) having been exhibited in Europe. 

 — Ed. 



Robbery of an Armadillo at the Zoological Gardens. — The 

 attempt lately made by one of the visiters to purloin an arma- 

 dillo from the collection of the Zoological Society, Regent's 

 Park, noticed in the police reports of the London papers, is 

 so unprecedented an occurrence that we are induced to advert 

 to it, principally for the purpose of expressing our decided 

 opinion of the insanity of the convicted party. The individual 

 who committed the theft, having captured the animal, which 

 must have been no very easy matter, instead of going out of 

 the gardens through one of the turnstile-gates, and convey- 

 ing the prize to his chaise, returned to the public entrance, 

 and actually applied for a whip which he had left in charge of 

 the gate-keeper, carrying his hat in his hand, with the arma- 

 dillo in it, secured by his handkerchief spread over the open- 

 ing. Under these circumstances, to escape detection was all 

 but impossible. We think the bench of magistrates were 

 perfectly right in the penalty of 10/. which they imposed for 

 the offence ; because the public should be protected from per- 

 sons whether sane or insane, who have a penchant for pilfering, 

 and we merely allude to the occurrence from a feeling of 

 justice towards the accused party, and to remove the impression 



* Since writing the above, we had an opportunity of conversing with one 

 of the party, an officer of the 92d regiment, who accompanied Dr. Smith, 

 and who, upon an alarm being given that a lion had attacked the camp, in- 

 cautiously placed his right hand over the muzzle of a loaded gun, which 

 exploded, sending a two-ounce ball directly through the palm of the hand, 

 carrying away a great part of two metacarpal bones. This severe accident, 

 however, does not appear in the least to have damped his ardour. — Ed. 



