ZOOI.OCilCAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



1073 



rilK MAKSIl CARDEN 

 t.iki-Ti fnim tlie east bank, liicikili!; tinvaril the Eagle : 



to Mr. Ditmars' office in an agate pan, after- 

 wards to be tagged and sent to the ice box. 

 Left in the warm office for a lialf hour, tlie men 

 concerned were surprised to find these dormice 

 actively running about the phice. The temper- 

 ature does not seem to play so important a part 

 with the dormant tendencies of these animals, 

 since there are times when they are as lively as 

 their tropical allies in nearbj' cages. Within an 

 hour several of them may be lying apparently 

 lifeless in corners of the cage and remain in 

 this condition for a day or so. These hibernat- 

 ing traits are very deceptive ; the animal show- 

 ing no signs of life when handled. The eyes re- 

 main closed and there is no external indication 

 of breathing. The keepers are now very wary 

 about reporting such examples as "dead." 



Wild Home Builders: Judging from the ac- 

 tivity of the prairie dogs, and the squirrels that 

 are free in the Park, we are led to imagine 

 that an old fashioned winter is being inaugu- 

 rated. The gray squirrels that are running in 

 generous number about the Park are storing 

 their nests with leaves, shed feathers from the 

 birds and soft bark from such trees as the ce- 

 dar. Several ornamental benches made of cedar 

 boughs have been stript clear of shaggy bark 



by the industrious creatures within the past ten 

 days. 



The Anthropoids: The series of Anthropoid 

 apes, composed of five orang-utans, four chim- 

 panzees and one gibbon demand more elabor- 

 ate care as these animals grow older. Most of 

 these creatures have passed from the state of 

 infancy and some of them have become dan- 

 gerous. The chimpanzee Baldy is now quite 

 matured and so savage at times that it is dif- 

 ficult to enter his cage. Quite recently he was 

 barely prevented from injuring one of the keep- 

 ers with a pitch-fork, which he wrested from 

 the man's hand. The two larger orangs are 

 even stronger than this chimpanzee, but are less 

 savage. At times they are very stubborn and 

 one of them would be more than a match for 

 a powerful man. The larger of the orangs has 

 a spread of arms of seven feet and weighs 120 

 pounds. 



The Tree Kainiaroo: A vigorous example of 

 the black tree kangaroo, Dendrolagus ursinus, 

 is the first specimen of arboreal kangaroos ex- 

 hibited in the Park. This animal is slightl_v 

 larger than the common wallabies which are at 

 all times on exhibition. Its pelage is quite 

 dense, imparting a decidedly stout appearance. 



