The record-union., 1893-09-02
TANNING WILD ANIMALS.
Tiger Cubs and BIue-nosed Man
drills for Pets.
Young Ogres and Their Strange Com
duct in Captivity-Dangerous but
Interesting PIaymates.

Professor Hagenbeck, the German Bar
mum, holds that nearly every known
species of birds and animals can be do
mesticated, provided they are caught
young, treated with kindness and kept
under local conditions somewhat resem-
bling those of their surroundings in
state of freedom. The neglect of the latter
precautiOn has, however, often led to un-
expected results. The climbing instinct
of its highland ancestor sooner or later
assert themselves in a pet chamois, to the
serious detrlment of its owners roof; and
young beaver, deprived Of the coveted
supply OF driftwood will build dams of
books, boots and gnawed-off table legs.
With pond for headquarters, and lot
OF loose building material, beavers can
be made as tame as pet coons; and Navar-
rette, in his chronicle of the West Indian
Islands, mentions a Haytian chieftain
who had managed to tame a manatee,
and repeatedly fed it for the amusement
of his visitor. AT the call of its master
the strange, tat creature-more unWieldly
than a sea-lion-would wriggle out of its
pond and drag itself up rude flight of
steps to receive its lunch of chopped up
fish, together with the caresSes of the
turn around with look of inquiry, and
If not detained by special request, wrig-
gle back to its pond and vent its exulta-
ton in a series Of aquatic gymnastics.
a TAME GRAY WOLF.
The gray wolf of the North American
prairieS is considered untamable, and l
have often wondered if its paroxysms of
i'll humor are not due to the restriction of
its rowing propensity. By little indul-
5y, &
of my acquaintance has domesticated a
couple of jaguars that romped about his
ranch like pet kittens, and had ceased to
be objects of dread to the cattle OF the
neigh borhood. In their rough and tum-
bic play with the watch dog they gener-
ously forbore the use of their sharp
claws, though in defending themselves
against the wantOn attack of a strange
cur they had given memorable proof of
their latent lighting ability. In rainy
winters they would frequent the warm
kitchen without ever violating the laws
of cleanliness, and the only season of the
year when they became rather trouble
some was in spring, when they were apt
to indulge in moonlight promenades on
the house roof and set up responsive
howl on hearing the screams of their wild
relatives in the neighborlnE swamp.
African colonists have more than once
tanned specimens of that near relative of
the wolf, the hyena-hound, and Dr.. Brehm
gives an interesting account of pet of
that sort that would take hunting trips
of twenty or thirty miles, and sometimes
supply the larder of its owner by drag
ging home young antelope, and accept
bowl of milk in exchange for Its prize.
The five young gOrillas which, up to
date, have been brought to various parts
of Europe, have proved as docile as baby
chimpanzees, and a much more danger
GUS variety of our Darwinian cousins is
the semi baboOn, especially
the Chaema baboon and the drill (cY5a0-
cephdtkS cinereuSO. The drill, a close
relative of the blue-nosed mandrill, has
canine teeth an inch and half long, and
can use them with an energy that makes
the Stoutest dog turn tail. "Our poverty
but not our will consents" may be his
excuse for devouring eggs and young
birds in the treeless hill country OF Cen
tral Africa, but not his diet, though he
eats prickly pears in their season, has ev-
idently reacted on his disposition, and a
combination of ferocity and great cum
ming makes the adults of the species about
the most dangerous Of all menagerie pets.
The youngsters are apt to appreciate
kindness, but the irritability of their
temper shows itself before they are more
than half-grown. On a cold day a young
drill will submit to being swaddled and
coddled like a baby, but let the nurse put
him down tor a minute and the four
handed infant will use it's fingers to rip
its shawls into shreds and set up a screech
like rusty buzz-saw striking a pine
knot. Nothing but abject batteries will
restore its good humor, and the attempt
to choke it into silence will not mend
matters, for the obstinate little brute will
rather die than live without using his
next chance of breath for yet more horri-
BILE screams.
A DANGEROUS PLAYMATE.
In default of more congenial company,
Master Cynocephalus will join a two
handed yOungster in game of romps,
but at the first real or imaginable affront
he will bristle up and face the offender
with glittering eyes.
A peace-Ottering in the shape of pea
nut may suffice to straighten out his
rutfied feelings, but the frequency Of such
paroxysms would make them an intoler-
able nuisance if it was not for the cum
ming tricks Of his lucid intervals. Those
periods of playfalness, however, become
soon exceptional, and a veteran drill will
pout in the darkest corner of his cage un-
less the remOnstrance of his lanlord should
provoke him to fly at the door and wear
out his teeth in desperate attempt to
chaw the iron bars.
a still more remarkable contrast in the
strikes the observer of family of tame
taplrs. The pigs, as they might be called
from their resemblance to young wild
hogs, are as lively as weasels, and nearly
as sly, chasing each other round and