PEEFACE 



This book is Intended chiefly as a work of reference. 

 As most Zoological Gardens are much alike, it is im- 

 possible to avoid a certain monotony in describing 

 them. And yet each Garden has generally its own 

 distinctive features. These I had the opportunity of 

 observing in a tour which I made early this year, and 

 I have tried to recount them in the following pages, 

 after first giving the main facts connected with the 

 foundation and development of the respective Gardens. 

 In my descriptive walks round I invariably turned to 

 the left on entering, and made my way round the 

 Gardens back to the entrance again. 



The chief thought that has occurred to me as the 

 result of my tour is that we in England take little 

 interest in the breedino- and acclimatization of wild 

 animals as compared with the Germans, or even 

 Americans. Almost every large town in Germany has 

 its Zoological Garden, and, as it usually contains a 



