The Opelousas courier., 1891-06-13
THE COST OF A MENAGERIE.
SORTS OF WILD BEASTS THAT
THRIVE BEHIND BARS.

Monkeys are Delicate.
"Animals of the cat tribe" said Mr..
Bailey, partner of the late P. T. Bar.
mum, ''are always splendid stock. They
are invariably hardy and long lived, and,
considering that most of them come
from tropical countries, they stand hard
ship and exposure to the vagaries of our
climate remarkably well. They all live
a dozen years in captivity, and often
much longer. [ know of lions now in
cages in this country which have been
here from twenty-five to thirty years.
Tigers are just about as long lived, and
leopards and panthers are not far be-
hind. Lions and tigers, if we'll grown
and healthy, are worth from $500 to
$1,000 apiece. A good pair of lions or
J tigers is an excellent investment. 1t
costs a pile to feed them, of course, but
they reproduce so frequently that they
pay well. A good tigress will produce
two filters of cubs a year, four in each
litter, of which at least half may be sue
cessfully raised. Leopards and panthers
generally eat their young, or at least kill
them.
"But you must be very careful with
your lions, tigers and leopards, though
they are hardy. Their great danger lies
in pneumonia, which they are apt to
catch on the slightest provocation in
ways difficult to trace. Draughts kill by
far the most of those who die prema-
turely. Their lungs were made for
tropical air, and they catch cold easily.
We have had great success with all the
big cats. Our winter quarters are per-
feet and our cages are draught proof.
Beside, we always feed them the best
beef that can be had in the market.
Zoos generally use horse meat, but | be-
lieve it pays to buy the best beef. With
the best of treatment, though, they oc-
c~asionally NOPE and lose appetite. Then
we give them a little fresh blood, still
hot, to drink, and if that doesn't tone
them up we drop few live turkeys,
chickens or rabbits into their cages and
let them do their own slaughtering. That
| always brings them into condition.
elephants are aver better stock than
! the cats, so far as sturdiness and longev-
ity are concerned. They don't pay divi-
dends, though, for they almost never re-
produce in captivity. AS far as | have
v g learned, the baby elephant that was
born in Mr.. Barnum's show some years
ago was the only one born in captivity.
But elephants will stand n Arly anything.
They require comparatiV Fly little care
QMd Qra Uarv IIsof,1l toll aro,,1l 4lo
show. They pull and push and haul
whenever needed and save no end of
trouble and costly power. The time was
a few years ago when elephants were
tremendous attractions, and shows were
popularity rated by the number of ele-
plants they carried with them. Now,
however; they are a drug on the market
at least in America. The country's
full of them, and / was very glad of the
chance to sell ten of our herd to Europe
several years ago and pack them off in a
freight steamer. A good elephant here
is worth from $500 to $4,000, according
to his age, size, temper, and intelligence.
I'd Europe d good elephant is worth from
$4,000 to $4,000. Few elephants die
natural deaths. Is they don't meet with
some accident. they get savage and dan
gerous eventually, and have to be
killed"
"How about monkeys?"
ooh, monkeys are very poor stock,
but then they are SO cheap we hardly
take any account of them. Monkeys are
weak-lunged, and keel over to pneu-
monia at any time. We expect that. So |
long as we stay in winter quarters, where
there is an absolutely equable tempera-
ture, they do very well, but when we
get or the road they die off almost, daily.
The slightest draught may kill them, or
a wet night or a sudden fall in the tenn
perature may suddenly almost deplete
our stock. Besides that they are ex.
tremely subject to digestive disorders.
We generally feed them carrots, potatoes,
and the like, but they o4en take sick
upYaccountably. People that feed them
all sorts Of trash in spite of the keepers,
help the monkeys to their death very
materially.
"Perhaps the most delicate animal is
the giraffe. It is unfortunate, for there
Is nc more striking an animal for show
purposes. / have one now, but only
keep him with the greatest care. A
good giraffe is well worth from $500 to
$4,000. The Gland is another exceeding
delicate animal. In this he is an ex-
to all the other antelopes, which
ire splendid stock, hardy, long-lived
md requiring next to no care. NV Gland
$ pining away. He requires grazing and
left him in Bridgeport, hoping that it
will restore him to health to turn him
nut this summer. But the Gland is too
lellcate for show imposes, any way. As
other antelopes, the horned horse
will live and grow lat till he gets knock
need of old age, and the ibex will about I.
aatch him. These antelopes cost some :
hing on account of the difficulty of cap1 4
uring them, but their sturdy longevity y
ends much to cheaper them. {
"perhaps the hardest animal to keen
Accessibility is the hardest of the birds. il
amely the ostrich. It is extremely sus- 4
to colds and stomach troubles in r.
You've got to watch it with D
and whenever its head droops doctor Il
Whenever it is sick it refuses to eat, 81
then you have to stuff it. that is. q
AXE balls of food and cram them do wn II
8 mouth. Otherwise it may starve
self to death. To look at the ostrich
ou would think it would stand n
.tique or exposure. But I have only ,,
ne left out of eleven which I bolcht. II