Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-15
CAPTIVE GIRAFFEs BADLY FED.
One Reason Why They Don't Thrive
in Captivity.

FROM tne new 1Ork sun.
A Sun reporter was talking the other day
with man who earned his living years
ago by leading hunters into inner Africa to
capture animals for the menageries of Eu-
rope and America. The man was asked If
he could tell of any great contrast between
these captive animals and the same species
In their free and natural state.
Il can think of one right away" he said
Il never see a captive giraffe munching
his bunch Of hay. the mainstay of his life
wherever he Is a prisoner. without wonder
ing how he can eat such strange food
mo one In Africa ever saw girtffe eat
grass, either dried or In its green condi-
ton. They do not bend their necks to the
earth to get food. as they are often COM
PEELED to do In captivity.
1.-The food of the giraffe In his native
home consists almost entirely Of the leaves
and tender twigs of various kinds of acacia.
There are some 400 varieties of this plant
Many of them exude gums resembling
caoutchouc. and no animal could eat their
foliage; but the leaves and twigs of other
kinds make good provender for several
species of animals.
The giraffe is among them, and though
l have seen him eat the leaves of other
shrubs and trees, he seems to prefer these
kinds of acacia The natives say that he
will wander out into the parched wilderness
and remain there Tor more tnan q week
without drop of water, the juices of the
acacia being a very good substitute.
80 the softest and most PUPPY and juicy
vegetation, without any of the hbrous quail
ity found in most grasses, is what the
giraffe Graves for and needs. don't think
that his anatomical conditions adapt him
for the fodder he is compelled to eat in
captivity.
II have said this to the managers OF me-
nageries and geological parks and have
told them also, as other men have done,
that their CRATES are not thriving and the
principal reason Is that their food Is not
suitable.
'"They are poor in flesh. and the vertebrae
in their necks are actually revealed through
the hides Of some specimens In this coup-
try. The giraffe in captivity lacks the
pumpness, the sleek fine coat and the gen.
eral air of well-being that makes him in
Africa the most beautiful creature among
an the mammalia.
1.-THE elephant is another animal whom
dire necessity compels to eat hay, though
it Is not a natural food Of his kind. In
this country he slows under his thick coat
many tons of hay in year. but in Africa
not blade of any kind of grass figures in
his bill of fare. / am aware that Ger
man professor has recently said that he
found grass in the stomach of an elephant
killed on the slope of Kilimanjaro. but In
all my experience l never saw or. heard of
wild elephant eating grass.
His food in East Africa, at any rate, Is
confined to small branches of trees, bark
and the fruits of trees. In fact the trees
that he prefers seem to be about his only
food resource.
when you are in the elephant country
you may always tell it by the quantities
of mimosa and other trees he has torn
down and ruined In order to get more con-
veniently within reach of the tenderer bark
and branches at the top. Elephants have
remarkable strength. and by getting a good
purchase with their trunks they can break
off some of the soft woods that are nearly
foot in thickness"