Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-11-17


the New York geological gardens has,
until recently, not touched food for
more than a year. 1t was actually
starving TO death. Live rabbits, pigs
and chickens were repeatedly offered
it: but it scorned to touch them. AS
the snake is misunderstanding been
brought from India at great expense
Professor Raymond L. Ditmars, cur
ator of reptiles for the New York Zoo
logical society, determined to resort
to drastic measures.
He decided to force the snake to eat.
But a hungry snake, twenty-seven
feet long, twelve inches in diameter
and weighing nearly 800 pounds, is
not the most tractable creature in the
world, and the question of forcing the
python to take food was a moment
Gus one
Professor DItmars, however, has
handled snakes of all kinds for up
wards of twelve years, and he attacked
the python problem with much sue
cess. He has forced the snake to eat
on several occasions already, and it
is even beginning to take an interest
in artificial food. The curator hopes
the python will soon begin eating Of
it's own accord, like the rest of the
snakes which he has taught to take
geological rations.
The history of Professor Ditmar's eff
forts to make snakes eat is interest
ics frc
brought to the geological gardens it is
placed in a cage and allowed to re-
main quiet for a week or two. Usual
ly, it lies dormant for this length OF
time.
When it begins to manifest an in
terest in it's surroundings, food is Of
fered it in the shape Of plucked
chicken on which the head and feet
are allowed to remain. The chicken
has to be absolutely fresh. Snakes
are extremely fastidious in the matter
of food, and, should the meat be the
least bit tainted, they reject it at
once.
AS every one knows, most snakes
are fond of young birds, and the
plucked chicken is offered at first be-
cause it resembles bird just out of
the egg.
In the snakes delicate tongue seems
to reside all his sensOry organs except
that of sight. The snake whips out
his tongue with lightning rapidity, and
ascertains whether or not his food is
fresh. If his preliminary investiga-
ton proves satisfactory, he goes ahead
with his meal in a leisurely fashion.
The chicken is swallowed whole,
as snakes do not masticate their food.
sessed by their jaws, however, is
something marvellous. A snake can
easily swallow an animal four times
it's own diameter. In fact. beacon
strictOrs manage to get into their
threats even fair sized deer and other
large animals.
In killing their prey in the native
state they construct it tightly in their
folds until all movement on the part
Of the doomed animal ceases. The
popular idea that they first crush the
bones before beginning the swallow
ing process is erroneous.
Professor Ditmars has observed
some remarkable phenomena in con
nection with the digestive powers OF
large snakes. 1t seems that the gas
trio juices of their stomachs are so
powerful that they dissolve even the
bones and teeth of the animals they
nave swallowed. A peculiar fact is
that, on occasions when the snake has
accidentally swallowed one of it's own
teeth, the tooth will be found undi-
gested, whereas, the teeth of it's prey
always disappear in the snakes digest
i've process.
When a valued snake at the New
York ZOO" refuses to take kindly
to plucked chicken, and lets months
roll by without any evident intention
to eat, no matter how enticing the
food which is offered it may be,
measures have been taken to prevent
it from committing suicide. Usually,
several others of their kind. 1t is a
difficult matter to extract from this
cage one of the snakes without excit-
ing the others.
The greatest precautions have to be
taken by those conducting the food
compelling operations. Under Pro
fessor Ditmars, at the New York ZOO
logical gardens, are Assistants
Charles Snyder Frederick Dahl and
George Stockdale. 1t is the province
of the first named assistant to enter
the python cage and throw blankets
over the heads of the snakes which
are not to be fed.
This task is by no means free from
great danger. Aside from the fact that
the snakes might envelop the man in
their coils the man runs great risks
from bites. The bite of the python,
anaconda and others of this class is
not poisonous, but it is painful.
When the snakes have been covered,
the one to he fed ic seized nv the hOdv