The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-11-12

his chin resting heavily on the floor
and feet curled under his body and
pointing toward one another
The elephants had thrown their great
bodies on their sides and each lay as
still as cat guarding a mouse hole.
Their trunks were drawn between their
forelegs.
Elephants sleep only when their
keeper is not around. Let him appear
and they will stand and lazily swing
their trunks in circles as long as he
remains in sight.
But once he has vanished they waste
no time wooing slumber. Why ele-
plants have this trait no one has been
able to explain except on the theory
that they are afraid.
The moonlight, shining through the
windows Of the aviary. lighted up a
small pond and what appeared to be a
score of red, white and brownish-
white balls of some soft material stuck
on the ends of thin slivers of wood
driven into the ponds bottom.
In reality. these variously colored
masses were cranes, and fiamingoes.
each slumbering on its right leg and
with its head tucked back underneath
its left wing. On their toothpick sup
ports they stood as motionless as if
they were of carved stone
The alligators, elinging to the unsub-
merged ends of dead trees, and the
California sea lions, poised on the crest
of big rock, with their heads and
necks overhanging the edge were wor-
thy rivals of the fblmingoes and
cranes is not showing signs of life as
they slept.
But while the alligators and sea lions
deserted their native element when
night came, the Coypu rats did not.
Big as the largest cats, these rodents
from South America squatted on all
tours in shallow water to devour their
dinner of carrots and after that. to
sleep, with thei children, in size equal
to the ordinary rat, squatting and cud-
died in rows between fathers and
mothers. Every Coypu had foot or
two of hairless tail sticking straight
out behind it.
AS the guards said they would, the
wolves howled almost every hour dur
ing the night, and the noise they made
sounded like nothing so much as a
medley of college yells at big foot
ball game
When they were not disturbed the
slumbers of the other beasts the wolves
slept lightly. lying on their sides in dog
fashion. The slightest noise brought
them to their feet, set them to pacing
their cages and often caused them to
yelp at the moon.
On the other hand the foxes, in
neighboring dens, seemed to slumber
heavily, despite the noise and their
reputation in the fables for sleeping
with one eye open. According to old
hunters the fox is a sound sleeper and
is often stumbled against in an open
space in the woods.
The fishes, however. did sleep with
their eyes open Fish have to, for they
haven't any eyelids.
Each fish balanced itself on the tip
of submerged rock and permitted IT.
self to be rocked in slumber by the
gentle swaying of the water. Sound
never awakens fish.
Dan Beard, the animal artist, re-
Gently aptly illustrated this when he
held a revolver over the top of his
aquarium and fired 1t a half dozen
times. The fish did not move
But when he waved his arm every
fin beat the water. A f1sh's sense of
hearing is very defective. and so it
makes its eyes do double duty twenty
four hours every day.
During the night there was one
fight In the Zoo boundaries. Two axis
deer clashed and the sound of their
antlers locking with each other started
the wolves bowling. and the pheasants.
very light sleepers, beat wildly against
the sides of their cages. When the
rumpus Quilted down the guard describ-
ed the fighting bucks as the night
hawks and the FOUNDERS of the Zoo.
Seems like they're fighting at all
hours of the night" he said, land
----~----