156 THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS OF EUROPE 



There is a fine Indian rhinoceros, his attendant 

 keeper on the occasion of my visit being busily engaged 

 in cleaning his hide and searching for ticks, much to the 

 delight of the great pachyderm. There was a pair of 

 hippopotami in a large bath, both females, which were 

 born in Antwerp. They were presented by M. Conrad. 

 ' Binding ' arrived when quite young, and soon de- 

 veloped into a great mass of flesh and fat ; and when- 

 ever ' Elizabeth ' opens her mouth wide, everybody 

 falls backwards in astonishment. 



In another enclosure are two American tapirs. We 

 next come to a really imposing and lofty bird-of-prey 

 aviary of very large proportions, and then to the bear 

 castle, with ivy running all over it. In a neighbouring- 

 tank are some green cormorants, perched on little 

 rocks. Close by is a large enclosure for storks, cranes, 

 stilts, gulls, herons, and flamingoes. 



The herons here, contrary to their usual habit, build 

 their nests on the ground and rear young ones every 

 year. These birds are allowed full liberty, for their 

 wings are never cut, but they are, in spite of this, very 

 punctual to meals. One went away with the winter 

 migration, but came back at supper-time the following 

 spring. Here is to be seen the Goliath heron {Ardea 

 goliath), rarely seen in confinement. 



We now come to the antelope house, which contains 

 quite a large herd of black buck. I counted ten of 

 these animals in one enclosure, including two young 

 ones. There is an Oryx leucoryx, an Oryx heisa, a 

 number of water-bucks, nylgai, and some brindled gnus, 

 which have bred here several times. There is an anoa 

 from the Celebes, born in the Garden, and a half-grown 



