The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-08-20
PHYSIC AT THE zoo.
How Sick Animals in Captivity are
Doctored.
From The Baltimore Herald.

garden have to struggle IS tne treatment u
sick animals and how to help the poor
creatures to fight against the enervaung
inf uences of their confinement. To-day II
is a dvspeptic elephant that must be
physicked, and tomorrow it Is monkey
with bad tooth, while birds, beasts and
reptiles with a d zen different disorders
demand at ention al all times.
Few, il any, wild finals can be Undue d
10 take medicine by itself without disguise,
and the m st common meth d of treatment
is by 9 insertion o. doses Of medicin in
the animals regular food. So long as lion
OF tiger will taks footrrgularly the keepers
can always ind wav t disguise a dose of
medici le within chu If meat, and thus
treat the patient with little trouble. Ordl-
narily the kee er prepares two BITS OF mea
of the same size and appearance, in one of
which the medicine IS concealed. The plain
piece is thrown to the hung animal, who
lips it down with hardly bite, and the
medicated follows 50 quickly that 1t is in
his stom lch before no has time TO think
about he possib lily of his keeper having
PLAYED a trick on him.
II lion has lost MS appetite and will
not touch his usual food 1t then becomes
necessary to te npt him back to his regular
diet by means of delicate morsels. A live
sparrow will often stimulate the tagging
try a rabbit, and a taste of the warm blood
will make him na ker for a Guinea pig.
Oil is the particul II aver ion of the lion,
and the ad ninistraJiOn of even a minute
dose is a matter that requires much in
geluity and ref manipulation. Ifeven
a few drops are placed on a chunk meat
the lion detects it at once and scorafully re-
jects the proffered bit. If, owever, thu oil es-
capss his notice at first lie is su 10 become
a. e bfs = 10 mo.
dow his throat, and then there is fun for
the spectators. Leo first expresses u1ol
his sutlly dignified countena ce look of
suspicious disgust, and as it dawns upOl
him that he mas been fooled and tricke1
into swall wing a dose of the obn >xio 10 oil
he makes up a hideous face, ope his
mouth an lashes his tongue from one jaw
to the other
CLIPPING A LEOPARD'S INGROwING CLAWS.
All the cat-like creatures in captivity are
more or less troubled with ingrowing claws.
In their wild condition travelling over tine
rocks and trees Is sufficient to keep their
claws worn down, but within their cages
the hooks grow so rapidly that they pene-
trate the ball of the foot and cause great
pain, and it then becomes necessary to snip
off the ends of the ella VS..
A black leopard was operated upon in this
manner: Several nOoses of rope we're thrust
upon the floor of the cage, and ths first me
into which the leopard S epped was pulled
taut and the animal was caught by one loot
He was dragged 10 the bars, where it was an
easy matter t. slip ropes around his other
feet and his neck. One of the keepers held
piece of soft pine for the leopard TO bite
upon in his fury, a I'd thus prevent breaking
his teeth on the bars Of his cage One by
one the paws were pulled between the bars,
and with a stout pair of pincers tle inyrow-
ing claws snppei off.
NICE DISH FOR THE ELEPHANTS.
Rheumatism is the co nplaint to which
elephants are most susceptible and they
have some mighty aches in their b & bodies.
Tue ailment ofte strikes to the heart and
suddenly stops the workings Of the great
blood pump The keepers a 'cept the theory
that rheumatism is caused by lack of
acid in tae system, a ID they doct II rheu-
matte elephants by feeding the ION lemons,
of whicl they are very fond.
For many days elephant afflicted with
rheumatism was fed wi h lemons, lis daily
dose being a box of five dozen. Every now
and then the elephants are washed ald
secured within a I'd without. Wnen the
elephants are overfed with pea uts and
cakes, and their digestive apparat S b.
comes sluggish in its action, they ars given
q good dose of physlc. CASTLE soap is u, ed
LOT LUt puTDOSt, hLl Us INC clcDiuuaS are
very fond of it they Will eat a large ban
without hesitation. The soap suds formed
inside the elepha IS SC ur them out in
most thorough manner. With their tough
hides thoroughly scrubbed d painted witt
coat of neatsfoot oil they are then as COOL
as new.
DOSING A CAMEL FROM A LADDER.
Camels, naturally accustomed to the dry
sandy soil of Arabia and African deserts
are afflicted with diarrhna when compellst
to live on damp ground. Medicine is gel
| orally given them i'll dates, of which they
are very fond aud eat freely. Occasi nally
however, it Is necessary TO a minister med
| cine direct and without C >nceatn meat. Foe
keeper then eli abs the hlg l',fencelwith a t
! tie in his hand and pourS the cholera mix
ture down the hu backed crea ,ure'>
roat. Sometimes q obstrep srous animal
| refuses to 60 near the fence, d then a
| ladder is put up against his side, and the
keeper climbs it, medicine in hand.
The rhinoceros has a t)ucI of Brig IT'S
! disease, or some other kidney trouble, n
times, but after eating few pecks of jIni
| per berries he comes arou ID all right gain
Most of the cattle, and zebraS as we'll, nav
hoof troubles of some kind. Standing OF
soft soil the r hoofsigroS to- fas, aud hav
to be trim ned do Vn. Zebras cauAoJ b
| thrown to have their hoofS cut withou
danger of an in er al rupture, as the
struggle very violently. Rough ashes ar
st n along one side Of their Enclosure, an
the zebras run up I'd down the strip, al
\ thus wear down their hoofs.
The wolves and buffaloes are the mos
hardy animals in the Zoo, and are rarel
troubled VITA any complaints.
DEER AND ANTELOPES DIE OF FRIGHT.
Two-thirds of the animals in captivit
die of neart disease. and there is no etiicie
method of treating this ailment. In th
deer and antelopes this disease is agg avate
by de ectlve vision, when is one of tn
p tculiar results of their captivity. Ma urall
timid aud nervous, they start in fright a
the approach of objects that the cann0
discern clearly. They Will even flee fror
their keepers before they Approach nea
enough to be distinguished. Sudde
frig Is of this kind are liable to caus
death by heart disease, and Mr.. Byrnt
says that if a small dog should ru III Dug
the deer and antelope pens it would b
likely t. kill every one of these nervou
animals.
When in good condition the snakes she
their skins every three months. If for an
reason their skins fail to come off tn
snakes are thrown in a fever aud thel
mouths grow so sore with canker that the
cannot swallow. IL is almost impossible I
cure this canker, and the snakes piAe ava
and die, some of them living a long tim
in ago ~, however, before the end comes
One diamond rattlesnake is known to h ~
lived two years without eating anythiu
Oecause of this complaint. Moist earth
sun baths, choice bits of food, and an oC
casional bath in warm milk are tue meas