YOUNG ANIMALS AT THE ZOO 
211 
four hours before the writer paid them a visit, and 
were in a state of royal indignation at their change of 
quarters from the ship, to which they had become 
temporarily reconciled. One only would enter the 
front cage of the den, where it lay on its back with its 
paws bent inwards, growling to itself, occasionally 
turning over, laying its ears back on its head, and 
flattening its nose against the back of its wrist, like a 
sulky child. Two other half-grown cubs were in that 
interesting region known as the “ passage,” which runs 
between the winter cages and the fine outdoor palaces 
behind. The details of the daily management of from 
twenty to thirty lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, and 
pumas can be comprehended at a glance from this 
central position. The ground-floor of the cages in 
the house, and of the playgrounds on the opposite 
side, is about four feet higher than the floor of the 
passage. The sleeping compartment of each cage has 
an iron sliding shutter, always kept locked, which gives 
on the passage. A corresponding shutter leads to the 
playground. A travelling bridge, running on rails, and 
barred on each side with iron rods, is the means of 
transit from the cages to these outer runs. When an 
animal is to be transferred from one to the other, the 
bridge is run up, the shutters are raised, and the lion 
or tiger, after sniffing and hesitating like a cat entering 
a room, walks through the bridge-cage, and takes 
possession of its apartments. Two of the young 
tigers were in the sleeping-den ; the other chose to 
remain in the bridge-cage, where it lay, crouched and 
