The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-05-02
CAPTIVE BEASTS.
Why Wild Animals Are Restless
When Under Restraint.


The second Of Ernest Seton-Thom3-
sons articles in the Century on The
National Zoo at Washington. CON
/ eiudes this study Of animals in rela-
ton to their natural environment. 1t
appears IN the May number. with many
Illustrations by the author. Mr.
lloillflsoh speaks incidentally Of the
feslesSness Of captive animals.
1t Is a common saying amOng. keep
ers mat averaging one animal with
another, a menageTie must be renewed
every three years. Yet 1 know Of one
manager who kept most of his ami
mas, those Of WO0dWard'S gardens.
san Francisco, alive healthy and han
Ply from the beginning Of his time 10
the end. sixteen years later, when the
establishment was broken up and the
animals were ordered to be shot in
their cages. The great secret Of his
success he tells me. was caring for
their mirdS as well as for their bodies
Many man shut up in a cell has
saved his mind by inventing some
Ilhing amusement. It IS recorded
that one set a daily watch on the
movements of a spider. Another tried
now many times he had to toss FIVE
pins before they fell in just the same
way. Another tried to run ten miles
j
other busted himself inVentiug new ar
rangementS for the Two or three artf-
cles OF furniture in his cell. Many
| nave paced up and down each day for
a number Of hours. And whatever they
| dld, all alike were seeking to put in
| time, to while away the awful tedium
! Of their mOnOtOnOUS lives. to respond
to the natural craving for exercise
and to save their minds and bodies
nom actually whitening from disuse-
II instead Of human captiVes we
read wild animals in all this we
shall have a very fair portrait of what
we may see every day in an ordinary
menagerie. Why does the elephant
swing to and FRO forever from his chain
picket? Why does he gather from the
floor all the straw he can reach, throw
it over his back and over ts.e stable.
to be regatheTed later2 Why does the
squirrel enter and work for hours the
aim2esS treadwheel, and the marten
leap listlessly half a day from point
TO pOint-dOOT, perch, STAT, box; floor,
perch, stat, box-again and again, with
mOnotonouS sameness day after day?
Why does the lone ostrich waltz far
more than does his wild kinaman that
has many admiTing spectators Of his
own kind. and why do the fox and the
wolverine trOt miles and miles Of cage
front every day. Why does the bear
roll and tumble for hours over the
same old wooden hall az If it were a
new-fOund chum, or, if no ball is sup
Piled swing back and forth on pivotal
hind foot for hours each day2 Why
does the rhinOcerOs keep on forever
nOsing at some projection that his horn
can almost fasten under till it get
more and more elusive through the
smoothing Of perpetual use2 Why do
wolves and monkeys put in hours and
hours over humble duties that in their
wild state were the work Of few min
utes at nnOst2 To all, the answer is the
same as to the similar query about the
man prisoner They are putting in
time. They are responding to the nat
uTal desire for exercise. They are try
ing to pass the tedium Of their hope
less lives: they are doing anything,
everything their poor brains can sug-
gest to while away the weary drag Of
DUH, eventless days Their bellies are
well cared for, or at least are always
plentifUlly cared for, but how few
keepers have learned that in each ami
NAL is a mentality. large or small that
ought to be considered