The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-12
DIETING TO COAX THE STORK.
PARK BCFF4LOES SEENED
DOOMED TO RACE SUICIDE.

ASs -
VIII Have the Desired Enect-Just
Now They're roo Lazy for Anything.
All corn and grain have been eliminated
from the diet Of the four Cape buffalo cow
in the Central Park menagerie in an efort
TO coax the stork to pay a visit to their
paddock. There haven't been any young
buffaloes of the African kind in the park
for several years and Director Smith has
hit upon a scheme which he thinks will
overcome the deficiency. II successful il
will show how the lack Of youngsters in a
community may be lone away with by
easy treatment.
The director is confident OF winning out
because his theory is based upon long OBJ
servation OF the many animals under his
charge.
The substance OF his theory is that the
stork likes to visit those homes where eggs
and meat are principally used In the diet
and he becomes shy when the food contains
much tapioca, candies and fats.
It is not by reason Of indulging in candy
and tapioca that the Cape buffaloes nave
been without offspring these several years.
while the American bison in the enclosurs
on one side of them and the East Indian
Eebu on the other side nave been adding
TO the animal collection right along. The
African beasts don't eat candy; they are
too lazy 10 60 TO the bars to receive it from
visitors. but the corn and oats which they
have been eating contain starch just as
tapioos does.
There are five Cape buffaloes in the park.
Dom Paul, the boss of the herd, is a giant Of
his kind. almost hairless since he left the
veldt to come to this country, and a great
eater. They are all lazy and pass their
time in lying down and chewing the cud
when not standing still and chewing. No
one about the menagerie ever saw one OF
them run or frisk about their enclosure az
do most OF the other animals. They are
IA fat az a prize hog at killing time and when
they occasionally moe they are too lazy
TO lift up their heads to put vim in the call.
When visitors pass along the enclosures and
feed those animals that come to the bars
the African oxen lie on the ground near the
shelter house at the further end, the very
picture Of contentment as they blink in the
sun and make no effort to get their share of
the good things.
Lack of exercise and high feeding are
not conducive to keeping up the normal
number of births in a menagerie, | nave
found out, the director said. Such a
condition brings about a deposit of fat in the
tissue instead of the proper ni~trogenized
elements which promote the normal func-
tons"
The director found proof of his theory
in the enclosure where the three bactrian
camels have their home. There has been no
there in three years, much to the
disappointment of the menagerie folk.
Here, too, the animals are indolent and
highly fed.
The stork has also skipped the fallow
deer paddock but made frequent trips 10
the English red deer, the elk and the Amer
lean bison. The slight upon the fallow deer
herd induced the menagerie authorities
10 take notice and to learn the reason for it.
Tn bird didn't seem 10 like fat animals,
they discovered.
The bison are great on exercising. Round
and round their enclosure they EAilop and
run in daily practice. Big Black Diamond
starts OF and the cows join in, kicking up
their heels a. though there were a band of
indian after them. They are muscular
but not fat. Great eXercisers. too, are the
aoudads, the elk, the nylzhaus and the
angora sheep, those families that keep
increasing in number year after year.
While it Is true that they take considerable
food they are SO active that they do moi
accumulate fat 10 ar undesiTable extent.
If the Cape buffaloes could be induced to
ia Ike su fficient exercise 10 work. of the fat
it is believed that the trouble about the race
dying out might be removed. But the only
effective way n seems possible TO accomplish
that would be for the keeper to jab them
with a pItchfork every once in a while.
As there would probably he a public cutlery
against such treatment il has not been put
into practice.
The scheme now i to put them on a simple
diet of hay and cut out the oats and corn
and other fattening articles of food. They
will have to get along on the hay regimen
until they are thin enough to initiate the
elk and aoudnds in exercising and in raising
families, just as they used to do when they
roamed their native veldt and had TO hustle
TO keep ont of the way of hunters and didD't
have time to get fat.