ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



'23 



the Park, and many rare animal subjects. The 

 book is five by seven inches, and contains twenty 

 illustrations, reproduced by the albcrtype proc- 

 ess, which gives the appearance of a soft platinum 

 print. The sales have been very larjic, and ap- 

 parently it was a step in the riglit direction. In 

 addition to the Views, a series of picture Post 

 Cards, of various subjects reproduced in same 

 manner, also has been issued. 



The ureonlioiise, which for three years has been 

 known to the public as the Small Mammals' 

 Iliiusc, and served as a home for a miscellaneous 

 collection of small cats, rodents, etc.. has been 

 removed to the Nursery. It will there serve its 

 proper functions. On the ground it occupied, 

 Geo. L. Walker & Co. will erect two buildintrs 

 for small mammals and ostriches, which will close- 

 ly adjoin. In the Small Mammals' House there 

 will be 104 inside cages, all connecting with an 

 equal number outside. The Ostrich House will 

 contain 14 inclosures connecting with outside 

 yards. Both buildings shouUl be coniplcted in 

 the spring of 1904. 



The new sections of the Bear Dens have been 

 conipleted, and bears from the older portion have 

 been moved into the new quarters. The empty 

 dens are being cleaned, painted, and repaired. 

 The entire series now comprises nine commodious 

 inclosures, each with a bathing pool. The new 

 dens contain some fine examples of rustic rock- 

 work, and are decidedly creditable to the builders. 

 The latest additions to the bear collection are 

 two great Yezo bears, the specific identity of which 

 is yet to be determined ; a Merriam's hear from the 

 .Alaska Peninsula, collected by Mr. A. J. Stone; and 

 a grizzly cub from Mexico, presented by .Mr. Charles 

 Sheldon. 



ing. In the latter part of August, the tigress, 

 "Ranee." after an afternoon feeding, succeeded in 

 fastening a large piece of bone to the left canine 

 tiioih. on the upper jaw. It became so firmly at- 

 tached and was so great an annoj'ance that the 

 animal was in grave danger of going into a fit. 

 Several attempts were made to entice her to the 

 cage front, so that a grip with tongs might be 

 gotten on the bone. .-Ml were failures, as she 

 absolutely refused to be coaxed. The situation 

 became grave; something had to be done, and 

 that <|uickly. 



The Director decided that the only hope of 

 handling the animal, was to confine her in the 

 small shifting cage. This was quickly accom- 

 plished, and a rope thrown over her neck and one 

 around the body. At first she resisted and strug- 

 gled, but suddenly she seemed to realize that 

 measures were about to be taken for her relief. 

 Instantly she became perfectly submissive and 

 permitted herself to be drawn close up to the side 

 of the shifting cage. Through the w-ire mesh the 

 Director quickly inserted a long pair of tongs and 

 dislodged the bone, which was fully two inches 

 in diameter. The tigress suffered not the slight- 

 est injury, and the whole operation, including the 

 return of the animal to her cage, was accom- 

 plished within about twenty minutes' time. This 

 incident serves to emphasize most clearly the 

 great usefulness of the shifting car in the rear of 

 the dens of the great cats. It is probable that 

 nowhere else in the world could a full-grown 

 tigress have been handled so quickly and easily 

 as on this particul.nr nccasinu. 



RECENT ARRIXALS. 



With the first herd of American Prong-Horned 

 .Xntelope, the Society established a free colony 

 of Missouri Prairie Dogs. As a bit of local color, 

 the colony was a success; as a nuisance, it 

 achieved an equal reputation, developing into a 

 pest which Mr. Merkel regarded with terror. 

 Various expedients were tried to capture the 

 members of the colony and restore them to the 

 Prairie-Dog \'illage. But the little animals great- 

 ly enjoyed their freedom, and craftily eluded 

 every artifice designed to deprive them of it. 

 They roamed at will over the lawns, burrowing 

 everywhere, even going, in their wanderings, as 

 far as West Farms. A professional trapper was 

 at length sought, and he employed an ingenious 

 method, which ended in the complete confusion 

 of the colony. .\ barrel, open at both ends, was 

 placed over each burrow, and the entrance to 

 the burrow filled with loose soil or sand. As 

 soon as the inmates became tired of this impris- 

 onment, they burrowed out. and the loose soil 

 filled the hole after them. One by one they were 

 plucked out of the barrels and placed in the 

 Prairie-Dog Village, and within two weeks, the 

 entire colony was transferred. 



There have been many cases in zoological 

 garden work, when a rough form of dentistry has 

 been required. Thus far the Zoological Park has 

 escaped this ordeal, which in a great many cases, 

 especially with large cats, might prove most try- 



Mammals. — Two White-faced Sapajous; i 

 While-throated Sapajou; i Snow Leopard; i 

 Grizzly Bear; I Opossum with 12 young; 3 

 Raccoons; i Albino .\ngora Cavj'; 2 Belgian 

 Hares; i .Albino Rabbit; 4 Fox Squirrels; 4 

 Dancing Mice; i White-tailed Deer; i Buffalo; 

 10 Elk. 



Birds. — Two Canaries ; i Japanese Robin ; 5 Mex- 

 ican Screech Owls; i Western Great Horned Owl; 

 8 Sparrow Hawks; i Brown-winged Hawk; 2 

 Barred Doves; 2 Ring Doves; i White-fronted 

 .\mazon Parrot; i While Ibis; 25 Green Herons; 

 3 Whistling Swans ; I pair Chinese Geese ; 2 Egyp- 

 tian Geese ; i Black Skinmicr ; 50 Laughing Gulls ; 

 I Herring Gull; 4 Least Terns; 5 Common Terns; 

 I Brown Gaiuiet ; I Gannet. 



Reptiles. — Two Hawksbill Turtles; 12 Horned 

 Toads; i Iguana; i Water Moccasin; 2 large Gar- 

 ter Snakes; i Yellow King Snake; i Milk Snake; 



1 Green Snake; I Boa. 



PURCHASES. 



Mammals. — One Siamang Gibbon; I Tscheli 

 Monkey; 2 Rhesus Monkeys; i Borneo Monkey; 



2 Chinese Macaques; i Japanese Red-faced Mon- 

 kc}'; I Golden Spider Monkey; 2 Black Saki 

 Monkeys; I Owl Monkey; i Clouded Leopard; I 

 Common Civet ; i White-whiskered Palm Civet ; 



