CHAPTER: TA. 
ANIMALS IN SICKNESS. 
In a collection consisting of thousands of animals, it is, of 
course, impossible to prevent the occurrence of various kinds 
of diseases. Sometimes these are very serious: as, for in- 
stance, when, just before the exhibition at Chicago, the 
epidemic of cholera invaded my menagerie and almost 
annihilated the inmates, while I and my skilled veterinary 
surgeons could do nothing but stand idly by and look on. 
But it is not often that we have to deal with scourges so 
terrible as this. Of the minor indispositions, those which 
affect animals on their first arrival, as a result of the long and 
trying journeys from the interior of distant continents and 
across the seas, are the most frequent. As I pointed out in 
the case of the elands and young baboons, their first ac- 
quaintance with captivity brings a heavy strain upon their 
constitutions, and the effects are very apt to appear later on 
in a disturbed state of health. Great care, therefore, has to be 
taken when one of these creatures arrives at its destination. 
It is fed on concentrated food in carefully regulated quantities. 
Every effort is made to soothe its disordered nerves, and to 
restore the creature to a normal condition before the process 
of acclimatisation is commenced. I lay great stress upon 
the rule that animals which have newly arrived should be 
treated very differently from those that have already been 
acclimatised and grown accustomed to their food. I feed 
new arrivals at frequent intervals during the day, giving 
them each time only small portions. Among the carnivores 
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