A FEW BIG CATS 29 



can crush the small, delicate neck of a mouse. 



And for this offence Lopez, like men, has 

 to take his punishment, although, being only 

 an animal, he, of course, does not know this. 

 And he has been condemned to the most ter- 

 rible punishment of all— solitary confinement 

 for life. For, although anxious to promote 

 the comfort and happiness of their animals 

 in the Park, the Director and others inter- 

 ested do not quite see their way to providing 

 an animal companions to be killed by way of 

 sport. 



Lopez can be seen in the Lion House at the 

 New York Zoological Park any day from 

 early in the morning to sunset, either pacing 

 restlessly up and down his cage or lying 

 silently and sullenly in one of the corners 

 or on the top of the shelf at the back, watch- 

 ing, with all the slyness and cunning of his 

 treacherous nature, for a chance either to 

 get out or to catch one of the keepers as 

 they go by from time to time. 



As he paces up and down, mark the beauty 



