Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-21

human comfort in the big house of Dunk"
the elephant. The thermometer shows 62.
Dunk" is extremely comfortable. and testi-
fes his sense of his masters presence by
reaching over and fiji cking him on the s'eeve
almost playfully for such a big fellow. He
gets few peanuts these days, but IT doesn't
seem to make any difference in his appear
ance and size. Dunk is forty years old
and a gay bachelor. Nobody knows where
he got his name. 1t came with him from
Forepaugh's show several years ago. He
Is worth. Keeper Blackburn says, about
s3,cOo, and few animals are worth any more
than that sum, he remarks. The most ex-
pensive of all are the hippopotamus and
the rhinoceros. of which good specimens
command from four TO six thousand dol
lars
In the animal house adjoining Is a fine
group Of huti. or Cuban tree rates. These
propagate we'll, and specimens have been
shipped from here all over the country. The
little armadillo, nearby, is racing about his
cage.
Amt he a buster?" remarks Keeper
Blackburn loosely. Most people think
Gagged animal is only happy when stu or
asleep. When they see on the move
they think he is just naturally worrying
himself to death thinking OF ways to get
out But that's all wrong. Animals get
used to captivity and they exercise just like
human beings, and often quite regularly
at certain hours. 1t keeps them well and
they understand it..
In the Bird House.
In the bird house the first thing the visitor
notices is a great happy family" of fully
twenty-five varieties, wired off together.at
one end of the building. These all go in
the big outdoor avary when spring comes.
where the sea gulls, the night heron, the
blue heron, the great turkey vulture and
the black vulture now WOO the winter winds
and the stars.
The new animal building, which is just
approaching completion, is the especial
pride of the management just now. 1t is Of
stone. 125xGO feet, and designed on the very
latest up-to-date principles of animal
architecture. The plasterers have just fin
ished. Soon will come the cages and then
the animals BY the time show weather
comes around again perhaps the finest ami
NAL building in the world will be ready for
the public. The building is all of iron and
stone with concrete hoorings and a double
ceiling to secure special ventilation. The
cages have skylights directly overhead, so
as to afford the best view OF the animals
conservatory full of flowers at one END
of the building will be unique innovation.
In the lions quarters is "Menelk.' the two
year-old lion sent as present recently 10
President Roosevelt from the King or
Abyssinia. He comes up to the bars at
once for a frolic, and Is as playful as a
young dog, and seemingly almost as inteili-
gent He is already fine young lion and
will make a splendid specimen when he gets
his growth unless like most scions of roy
atty he is spoiled by the petting of the
keepers Ben" the big Bengal tiger, lies
stretched out nearby, spending his last Gays
In peace Ben is thirty years old, prob
ably quite the oldest tiger on exhieiuon.
and his show days are almost over But
there is still fire in his eyes as he raises ms
head when the keeper touches his witnered
old flank, and his jaws fare open at you,
although there are no longer any teeth IN
them.