the morning the sun strikes through the trees and warms the rocks, but 

 for the greater part of the day an almost impenetrable shade makes life 

 worth living for the bears of the northern seas. 



Through the trees west of the bear collection lies the Beaver Pond. 

 The Society has transplanted several of these interesting wilderness engi- 

 neers to this spot, and now a large family regularly makes and repairs 

 dams, houses, and canals. Even in the middle of the day, when tradition 

 states that the beavers sleep, the hereditary timidity of this curious 

 rodent has been laid aside, and the cares and responsibilities of a beaver 

 colony may be observed by visitors as they pass to and fro along the 

 shores of the pond. 



Over the tops of the laurels and rhododendrons that fill Beaver 

 Valley from end to end, may be seen the white walls of the Elephant 

 House. Architecturally this is the most pretentious structure in the 

 Park. It stands at the south end of Baird Court, facing a group of 

 buildings that surround the Court on all sides. The home of the largest 

 existing land mammals is an elongated building of Indiana lime-stone, 

 surmounted by a gaily colored, tiled dome. Worthy of the building is 

 its collection of five elephants, two rhinos, four hippos, three of them 

 the wonderful, rare and costly pygmy hippopotami, and two species of 

 tapirs. Large yards enclosed by heavy steel fences flank the building 

 on either side. A feature is the direct passageway through the building 

 from south to north. 



From the Elephant House, Baird Court, with its grouping of dig- 

 nified animal buildings, is a classic picture. The Lion House on the 

 left of the Court is the only one in the world that has wire netting used 

 for enclosure instead of bars, green tiles in the cage-walls instead of 

 paint, and that is equipped with a studio cage for animal painters and 

 sculptors. The sculptural decorations on this building are after designs 

 and models by Eli Harvey. All of the inmates have access to great 

 outside cages in the warm months. 



Directly across the Court is the Primate House. Despite the deli- 

 cate nature of most of the apes and monkeys and the ever existing 

 danger of infection from humankind with virulent maladies, a good 

 average collection is usually on exhibition. The Society has specialized 

 in the great anthropoid apes and has exhibited almost uninterruptedly 

 good specimens, at one time having nine. A gorilla from West Africa, 

 an adult orang-utan, a chimpanzee and a white-handed gibbon are the 

 representatives at this time. 



Nowhere else in the world can such varied collections of rare and 

 beautiful birds be seen as those that fill the cages of the Large-Bird 

 House. An abundance of light, air, and large flying spaces is more 



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