Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-08-25
CI-RING WInn RNAsTs.
Little Suffering During the Hot Spell,
but Much Illness ON Account OF the
Change OF Weather.
F-om fAe PsiladelpRia TTmes.

From tAs Phil1delcEia TTs,es.
Visitors 70 the Geological Garden dur
ing the past week have been struck VITA
the general air OF debility among most Of
the animals. Nearly sIl Of them either
moved about nstlessly or else moped in
corners and refused 70 move az all. The
Chimpsnzee kept her blanket tightly
drawn around her shoulders al through
the week ana no dainty could Tempt her
70 leave her favcrife corner. Even the
monkeys we're less clsmorous for tAVors
and the uootasome peanut pal-5d on taer
usually Unsuitable sppel,a.
The larger annals. and especially the
carnivora. 81 fered even more than the
little animals. The lions and leopards
stopped their cease less promenade and
Law all dav lcug with their noses between
Their paws watching events through their
haIf-0pe1 syelIss Supt. Brown explained
this state OF apathy among the animals
yesterday.
There has been more sickness among
the animals puring the past week than at
anv time in the history Of the garden" he
said Contrary 10 the rule there was
very little suffering among them during
the heated spell which ended about week
ago, but as soon AZ the breakup came
and the mercury took such terrible
tumble nearly every animal felt tue eff
fects of the change and almost majority
of them We're taken sick. The camels
were the greatest sufferers Every one IN
the garden was Frustrated with dyspepsia
and a general arrangement OF the alimen-
tary canal.
CAMELs AFFECTED BY THE CHI ANGE.
''One of them is still very i'll and tits still
not expected that he will recover. Three
or four OF the carnivora are sick and one
OF the pumas was very Ill with cnOleTa
morbus. He refused to take any nourish-
ment and the only thing he could be IN
duced to take was an occasional swallow
of water. W tried for two days 10 give
him a dose Of bismuth and opium, but we
had 70 give It up. The medicines we're
diluted with water until il was lmpossl-
bic for the human palate to detect their
presence, but the puma discovered II at
the first sniff aud refused To touch 1t. he
didn't eat = morsel for five days, but ne is
coming around all right now
"LRst night be consented to eat nicely
broiled spring chicken and think be viii
be himself again in a few days. Another
puma was greatly Frustrated and l am
afraid he is to old to rally. Benefits wall
aby, variety of the kangaroo, caught
severe cold at the time of the sudden
change and died, after a brief illness, of
pneumonia. One Of the sea lions was
Frustrated by the heat Just before the cold
wave came and probably died OF conges-
ton of the brain. I made a post-mOrtem
examination of his body and could find no
other cause OF death. The chimpanzee
was also severity affected by the change,
She caught cold in her head and refused
to eat anything except an occasional piece
Of banana or orange.
THE DELICATE CHIAfPANZEE.
'sWe have had her for three years and
this is only the second time that she mas
been Ill. During these spells Of sickness
we treat her the same as any human
invalid. We never try to force her to eat,
but simply wait until nature asserts it.
self and then tempt herreturning appetite
with any little delicacy she might crave.
At one time she went three weeks with
out tasting a mOrsel, except a few
pieces Of fruit, but when her appetite re-
turned she ate like pig. Many of the
small animals are seriously iudispOsed,
but most Of them are simply suffering
with disordered stomachs and loss Of appe-
tite.
''ln caring for sick animals we general
ly rely on the veterinary treatment. We
use very little medicine, beyond an Occa-
sional tonic, astringent, or laxative. In
many cases the administering Of medi-
zines works more harm than good 1 lind
our best reliance to be in careful watch
ing and dieting. Aside from the harm
the medicines might do a wild animal
there are other considerations against
administering them that are much more
important. In the first place il is hard to
tell what is the matter with wild animal
when II is simply of its feed. 1t is not
practicable to feel its pulse, listen to the
beating OF it's heart and do various other
things usual in diagnosing case in q
human being.
TREATING A WILD BEAST.
cit is generally a wild guess in deter
mining what ails wild beast. When
you have decided what ails 1t, however,
the next question is, What shall ] give
itg Drugs have different effect on diff
ferent animals. A doze that would kill
one animal willhave no effect on another.
But, even If you know what TO give il,
the mkt and most serious question
arises, ''HOw shall / administer the medi-
einep
''The greatest difficulty, OF course. is
met with in giving medicine to the larger
animals. The process is always attended
with danger, and in many instances the
patient dies either from fright or shock tC
It's nervous system In order to admins
Tel a uoet Nl NlthitAlt W "a Wltu UtdHi III u
necessary 10 bind il down with ropes and
when it is firmly secured drench II in the
way praouceG in dosing horses This
treatment always results In severe
shock 70 the animals nerves and frequent
~ produces death. A wild animal will
not permit itself 70 be handled like do.
mesticated animal. II will always lash
itself into fury, and in this lies the dan
ger Of overcoming II by rough measures
and still this is the only way that it can
be dOsed.
THEIR SENSE OF TASTE.
"Their Of taste is so perfectly de.
veloped that they can detect any foreign
substance on the instant and will refuse
TO touch their food. OF course 10 Is often
necessary 10 throw animals for the pur.
pose Of cutting their claws or pairing their
hoois or making any surgical operation,
but we always employ great deal Of care
in securing the animal.
"Recently. we had occasion 10 throw {
zebra, and it took seven men 10 accom-.
plish II without injury to the annual
Then again we must have regard for the
safety Of the men. A fun grown came
can Kick a. hard as q whole train OF gov.
erpment mules. Many animals we can'i
handle az all. For instance. you can
lasso polar bear, as bis neck and ankles
are larger than bis head or feet. and the
rope would naturally slip OF as fast Al
you could throw IL on. The elephant Il
the hardest beast 20 throw. but is less sub
ect 70 nervous shock than the other val,
L.