REMINISCENCES FROM THE MELBOURNE ZOO. 83 
of it, and he rubbed her down gently. As she turned he playfully 
caught her tail. Of course this convinced the onlookers that he was a 
real live, fearless tiger charmer. Presently the crowd began to laugh, 
and the laugh grew into a sustained roar of merriment. Delighted at 
making an unusually deep impression, he put a little more flourish into 
the exhibition that was going with such a swing, and the antics he cut 
were most amusing. He then determined to give the tiger a share of 
his patronage, and turned towards him. Alas! he at once saw that he 
was not the cause of the fun at all. The wily old tiger had seen that 
the smart gloves were just within reach of his paw, so he had laboriously 
manoeuvred to get them inside the cage, and then leisurely proceeded 
to chew them up. The comic side of it appealed to the people strongly : 
but as for the owner of the gloves — well, in the words of Sir W. S. 
Gilbert, “I’d be sorry to mention the words that he said!” 
LEOPARDS 
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ZOO. 
The first wild animal bought by what was then known as the Acclim.a- 
tisation Society of Victoria was a leopard. That was many years ago, 
but Mr. Wilkie still distinctly remembers the thrill of excitement and 
pleasure that ran through the staff when it became known that at last 
a real live wild creature was to be added to the collection of deer, alpacas 
and monkeys already in residence there. The gardens had just been 
removed from the position now occupied by the Amateur Sports Grounds 
to the forty acres at Royal Park presented to the Society by the Govern- 
ment. The director was Mr. A. C. Le Souef, father of the present one, and 
the staff consisted of Messrs. David and Andrew Wilkie and Frank Meaker, 
and as a son of the last-named is still there, there has been an unbroken 
connection of the original staff with the gardens down to this day. These 
were the parent gardens of the Commonwealth, and Melbourne thought 
itself most up-to-date in possessing them. Shortly after the first leopard 
was purchased two travelling showmen came to Melbourne with a pair 
of performing lions and a tame cheetah. The success of the show may be 
judged by the fact that after a time the three animals were seized by the 
butcher who supplied them with meat, and were sold by public auction to 
repay the cost of their keep. Mr. A. C. Le Souef bought all three; and 
