Evening star., 1903-12-19
BEASTS AT ELUMBBR
HOW ANIMALS AT THE zoo SEEK
REPosE.
Bears Snore Like q Steam Engine
The King Of Beasts-The Habits
Of the Monkeys.

happened at the Zoo the other afternoon,
when an inordinate desire to see the wild
animals asleep overcame the scribe. To
one of the attendants he addressed
query as to the after-dark habits and
customs of the various birds, animals and
reptiles in custody, and was assured that,
with the permission Of the superfntend-
ent nothing would be easier than noe
turnal inspection of the various cages
and dens. This was secured.
The reporter and the attendant walked
past deer ranges, where soft-eyed crea-
lures lazily munched the remnants OF
their dir ners; past dens OF wolves and
foxes, where the former were pacing back
and forth and snarling at one another;
past ponds for ducks and otters and
beavers to the dens of the bears. There
they stopped and the attendant pointed
to big black hulk being swallowed up
by the rapidly falling darkness. 1t was
just light enough to make out that the
animals feet were tucked under
bumped body and that its dropping head
was trying hard to emulate the paws.
Hes been snoring like steam engine
since o'clock said the attendant, "and
he won't wake up until morning. He's
early to bed and late to rise. When the
wolves howl, as they do several times q
night, he's the only fellow in the whole
Zoo who isn't disturbed. He Just keeps
on snoring and snoring, does this Kodiak
bear from Alaska"
An hour later all but two of the bears
were in sound slumber. The hafry-eared
bear from Asia dreamed as he squatted on
his launches and propped himself on his
paws. ......-..--
The four crotches of the dead tree were
occupied by as many black bears curled up
into balls. Cinnamon, brown and grizzly
animals were scattered over the rocky
floors. The two polar bears had hattened
themselves like pancakes on a cliff over
which the chilly night air swept freely,
and, judging by the contented sighs they
emitted every little while, they seemed to
be relishing the frosty breezes that ruft1ed
up their white coats.
The other wide awake was big grizzly,
squatted before his dens gate He per-
sistently endeavored to pick the lock. Half
an hour later he desisted in his vain efforts
and soon was sound asleep in front of the
gate, but one paw still reached up toward
the lock.
Not sound came from the primates
house until a door creaked as it was open
ed. Then every living thing scampered
about and chatted. The hay in the cages
rustled, the sides Of the cages ratified as
the monkeys swung up and down, and the
shelves and perches squeaked under the
burden Of disturbed animals. Pretty soon
all were settled once more and the mon
keys were seen as they slept.
Tail Of Prodigious Length.
The little squirrel monkey from South
and his tail, four times the length Of his
body, stuck straight up in the air. The
rhesus monkeys. lying on their bellies and
with their hands under their chins. re-
minded one Of the way human babies fire.
Quently sleep.
A big black ape bumped up on the floor,
with his head leaning against the cages
side, snored away like major. The drills
and mandrills from West Africa sat up like
toy soldiers, and an Arabian baboon.
perched above them on his launches. let his
long tail swing down into the faces OF its
smaller cage mates
In the lion house the kings Of all beasts
were found sleeping like dogs. either on
their sides, with feet held straight out, or
on their bellies. with heads resting between
their paws. Two of the tigers had rolled
over on their backs and their feet pointed
toward the cages roof while their tongues
lolled from their partly opened jaws.
The puma, curled up like a cat, had the
seemed to enjoy sleeping with a twisted
neck "a akl
Only When Keeper is Away.
Dunk, the elephant, had thrown his great
body on his side and lay as still as mouse.
Elephants sleep only when their keeper is
not around. Let him appear and they will
stand and lazily swing their trunks in cir
cles as long as ne remains in sight. But
wooing slumber.
AS the attendant said, the wolves howled
almost every hour during the night, and the
noise they made sounded like nothing 80
much as a medley of college yells at a big
foot bali game. When they were not dis
turbing the slumber Of the other beasts
the wolves slept lightly, lying on their
sides in dog fashion.
On the other hand. the foxes in neighbor-
ing dens, seemed to slumber heavily, de-
spite the noise and their reputation in tho
fables for sleeping with one eye open. Ac-
cording to old hunters, the fox is a sound
sleeper.
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
itself to be rocked in slumber by the gentle
swaytng of the water. Sound never awak-
ems fish.
DAY OF HIGH PRICES.