Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-08-13

POLAR BEARS, But GENERALLY THEY ARE IN
GOOD coSDIrIoS-rHE LION AND ELEPHANT
REvKL IN THE HOT Sun.
MAN Is NOT THE ONLY ANIMAL THAT
AAA suffers duringthese hot spells, of which ther<
have been considerably more than enough this
summer. Indeed. very few Of the animal king
dom are there which do not suffer from heat,
and many of them undoubtedly suffer more
than man does. The sufferings Of the horse
and other domestic animals are too well known,
and that the readers Of The STAB might know
how the wild animals at the Zoo stand the heat,
one Of its reporters made his way out there
one very hot day Of this week.
Entering the great park from the old quarry
road the first animals seen were the graceful
deer. All Of them had endeavored to escape
the intense heat by seeking the shade afforded
by the trees in their Enclosures. Here and there
one would be found standing, but most of them
were lying down. and not one of the herd was
Importance Of keeping still, and for once their
well-known inquisitiveness was not great enough
to cause them to follow the visitors about
PLAYING WATER ON THE BEARS.
Across the road, at the bear pens two Of the
keepers were discovered playing a heavy stream
Of water on the two magnificent polar bears.
And how those two strangers from the frozen
north did enjoy their shower bath. They stood
up on their feet rs erect and straight as
soldiers and allowed the water to be thrown
upon them from head to foot. Then they
would roll over and over upon the floor of their
den, plunging now and then into the big bath
sunk in the floor. Three or four times a day
this hot weather the polar bears are SO
bathed or cooled of, but the other
members of the bear family get bath
put once day, as they are much
less affected by the heat. Yet the only animal
at the Zoo which succumbed to the heat this
summer was one Of the black bears. Over the
den OF the polar bears large awning has been
placed, Il having been found to be absolutely
necessary. and to their frequent baths and to
this awning is due the splendid condition of the
TO particularly enjoy their enforced bath. In
fact, several of them loudly protested and had
1t not been for strong iron bars would have in
stantly put q stop to it.
The sacred bull was found secured by long
rope in a shady spot to the left of the road
There was good grazing ground round about
him, and he was enjoying the tender grass with
an appetite which plainly indicated that, while
he was thousands of miles distant from his
native land, this country. its weather and its
products were quite good enough for him.
EXTRA sTAR-sTAR HERE!"
As the reporter approached the animal house
on the hill he heard the familiar cry Of .sSrAR
here! Extra STAB! Extra STAR! STAR here!'
The newsboy seemed to be in the house, and
The STAR man quickened his steps, anxious
to learn the occasion of 1.-THE extra" Entering
the house not a newsboy was to be seen, but
still the cry of ''STAR here! Extra STARR rang
out, and instead Of one boy there now seemed
to be two.
"Who are you looking for? The STAR boy?"
inquired one of the keepers
Being assured that he was the individual
sought, the reporter was conducted to a corner
Of the house where fine green parrot was
Gagged. That's The STAR boy" explained the
amused keeper, pointing toward the bird. "She
was placed here for safe keeping by lady some
time ago." continued the keeper, "and she is
the finest talker l ever heard. She is a very re-
spectacle parrot, never using bad word"
THE LION REyELs IN HOT WEATHER.
The Thermometer in the animal house
registered "a degrees, and with the ex-
ception Of French" the young African
lion, every animal and bird in the house
was more or less affected by the heat. A
doorway had been cut in the stone wall in the
rear of the lions cage and great iron bars
formed an opening through which his majesty
could view the outside world and sniff the fresh
air. At this door or window he lay stretched
out at full length, his head between his great
paws, and his big brown eyes fixed upon the
wooded hills across the creek. His keeper stated
that he largely enjoyed his window and that the
great beast spent almost the entire day and
night looking out Of it. "He seems to revel in
the hot weather" said his keeper. land is one
Of the few animals we have which do enjoy hot
weather."
The tiger cats on the opposite side Law
stretched out in their cages painting with the
heat. their eyes half closed and all animation
and life seemingly gone. Only those animals
which could not be Gagged outside were kept in
the house. such as the lion, tiger cats, monkeys
and few small South American snimals The
monkeys appeared to feel the heat consider
ably, and instead of jumping, swinging and
tumbling about their cages, as is their usual
custom, sat with their queer little faces pressed
against the wire netting, their eyes turned APP
pealingly toward their keepers as if pleading
for their freedom.
BARNEY, THE SPIDER MONKEY.
The most affectionate animal at the Zoo is an
inmate Of one Of these cages-a fine specimen
of the spider money-"Barney'' they call him.
and he is Of dark blush color, with a long,
thick tail, and face almost human in its intel
ligence. He is just tall enough when walking
erect to clasp the hands Of the keeper. The
moment the door of his cage is opened he
springs to the arms Of his keeper, throws his
long arms around his neck and lays his comical
little face close against the keepers, and in
that position Barney" will remain as long as
he is permitted to do SO. He is terribly Jealous
Of his companions, and if they are petted he
throws himself down in q corner and expresses
his grief in quaint means and cries.
Outside. in their respective pens, the wolves,
foxes, wild hogs and like animals spend most of
their time these hot days lying motionless in
the shade-meal time being about the only
time of the day when they rouse themselves.
Then it is only long enough to devour what
food is given them. As a rule the inmates of
the Zoo eat much less ut this time Of the year
than at any other.
THE ELEPHANTS LIKE 1T.
DUNK and "Gold Dust" the two elephants,
are notable exceptions, however. Indeed, they
eat more in the summer than during the other
seasons Of the year, and they undoubtedly en-
joy the warm weather hugely. Their bath in
Rock creek every afternoon at s affords them
the most pleasure and comfort, perhaps. and il
for any reason it is omitted their disappoint-
ment is plainly observable in their great un-
easiness. dunk, the great fellow which was
ONE VUEEU UyTTut nTIJ