ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN* 





THE GOOD STEP-MOTHER 

 White-Tailed Deer fawn was saved for the Zoological Park. The kind-hearted 

 farmer is, unfortunately invisible. 



Indians enjoy the diversion of taking a large 

 rattlesnake and grafting a rooster's spur upon 

 the top of its head. The surgical operation is 

 mi cleverly performed, and the healing so per- 

 fect, that the decorative appendage appears to 

 have grown there. One of these "unicorn" 

 specimens lived for many months in the Reptile 

 House. Of late, the Indians have elaborated 

 the operation and decorate rattlesnakes with 

 two horns. It is a specimen of this type that 

 has been received at the Park, and it attracts 

 much interest. It was sold to the highest bid- 

 der in Brownsville, the purchase price being do- 

 nated to the local Red Cross unit, and Mr. 

 Snake King kindly procured the sending of the 

 reptile to us. 



Savage Hybrid Bears. — Our bears are peace- 

 ful and hardy animals and the years pass with- 

 out combats or sickness in our large collection. 

 The keepers enter the dens each morning and 

 after driving the big carnivores to the top of the 

 rocky ledge, proceed to wash the den floors. 

 Accidents to the keepers have been rare, and 

 the few instances that have occurred could 

 have been avoided. Recently we were star- 

 tled to hear a great commotion at the Bear 

 Dens and discovered two of these animals 

 in furious combat. The participants were a 

 female Yezo bear from Japan, and a hybrid 

 Russian-Sloth bear born in the Park two years 

 ago. The latter animal was the aggressor. 

 Keeper Romanoff entered the den and with a 



stout club endeavored to separate the combat- 

 ants. So infuriated was the hybrid bear, that 

 the blows from the club, blinding streams of 

 water, ammonia fumes and eventually the use of 

 heavy iron bars wielded by several keepers. 

 were utterly futile in making an impression. 

 The Yezo bear was killed and finally dragged 

 into one of the sleeping dens. The hybrid bear 

 continued savage for several days and develop- 

 ed such a threatening attitude towards tin- 

 keeper that it was decided to mercifully execute 

 him. We have noted in other instances that 

 hybrid bears usually develop a bad temper with- 

 in their second or third year. 



Insect Sonr/sters. — Late afternoon ushers in 

 the katv-did chorus in the Reptile House. To 

 some of our visitors who have never exam- 

 ined these tree-top songsters, or noted how they 

 "sing," the effect is quite startling. A descrip- 

 tive label explains that the loud call is pro- 

 duced by rubbing together the stridulating or- 

 gans, which in plain English are the brittle 

 portions of the wings. We hear frequent ex- 

 clamations of astonishment about the volume of 

 sound produced by these insects. The collection 

 of katy-dids resulted from the arduous work 

 of Keeper Palmer while on a vacation trip. 

 The insects were hunted at night, and stalked 

 by their calls. It was necessary to climb into 

 trees after them, and locate each specimen by 

 means of a flash-lamp. 



