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ALMOST HUMAN 
almost a pity that such fine animals could not be given the choice between 
an early, easy death and a possible long life of toil. One could imagine 
them preferring unhesitatingly the sunshine and the work before mere 
extinction coming upon them at the zenith of their powers. 
In the illustration a white cow will be noted in the foreground. She 
is a half-bred Zebu (or Indian) cow, that was born in the gardens. She 
was so much petted in calfhood that she grew up tamer than the ordinary 
domestic cow. Once, when calving, she was turned out to graze in 
one of the paddocks used by the horses, and she seemed, by some extra- 
ordinary instinct, to immediately realise the pathos of the position of 
her companions. She at once tendered her friendship, but for some 
time the horses rejected all overtures. It took months for her to establish 
herself as a member of their society, but unwearied persistence in well- 
doing at last convinced the horses that she had no ulterior motive behind 
her offers of comradeship, and slowly she became recognised as a friend 
indeed. Since then she has lived among them as one of themselves. 
All efforts to separate her from them affected her spirits and appetite so 
badly that at last the inevitable was accepted, and she remains perman- 
ently with them, the mascot of the regiment. 
No food that is killed outside the gardens is given to the carnivora 
because the risk of disease or ptomaine poisoning is too serious. Visitors 
are often heard to express their astonishment at the small quantity of 
food that is given to these great animals as a day’s rations, but they 
forget that the supply is constant, whereas in the jungle a meal comes 
to them between two prolonged periods of abstention, and after a gorge 
they have to sleep for a long while to recover their form and fitness ; and 
moreover, they have unbounded exercise during the chase. In captivity 
over-eating and under-exertion would mean very short lives indeed. 
A great boiler of soup is made daily from those portions of the 
horses that are not used in the raw state, and this is mixed with whole 
maize, wheat and rice. When cooled it is further mixed with pollard 
and given to the cranes and the ducks and certain other carnivorous 
birds. The boiled meat is then minced and mixed with maize-meal and 
pollard and is given to other birds and the monkeys, who are very fond 
of these savoury balls. 
The rest of the food list of a Zoo is surprisingly varied. There 
are numerous little luxuries the animals not only want but must have 
to keep them in good health and spirits. Some dainty little birds must 
have cake; some animals must have bananas and apples — Mollie, for 
instance, must get her fruit regularly. Lots of things like bread soaked 
in sugar-water, and monkeys and other animals that have been mascots 
