The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-04-28
ZOO ON THE
6. 6. MARIANA
CONTINUED From Page One.)

of Australia Chat is, they carry the1
young in pouches). I do not thinl
there are any of them in any zoo il
; the United States. They are very rare
) and hard to get. There was a tins
! when they We're scattered through tht
Commonwealth Of Australia, as shown
by discovery of their bones in variou:
parts. but it is supposed that the din
goes cleared them out. In Tasmania
there are no dingoes. Tasmania is
also unique. zoologically, in having g
marsupial tiger. which is beautifully
striped, These tigers are almost ex-
tinct now. and it is almost impossible
| to get one. A pair of them was re-
Gently obtained at great expense and
shipped to the London Zoo, but one
of Them succumbed to the heat cross
ing the tropics.
I have FIVE wallabies (snall variety
of Kangaroo with me- They are most
amiable animals, in great contrast TO
| the devils. and they make most low
able pets. They like diet of lucerne
| and bran. / also have a kangaroo rat.
| It is somewhat larger than an ordi-
nary rat, and rises on its hind legs
anu tehAl int q hcAIi5diCCt llloaS1A "1tti
| less perfection, and it often runs on
/ all tours. like a rat. 1t is mar
supial just before left Hobart, the
/ Governor of Tasmania made me a
present of two Tasmanian black
| swans, which were in the Government
House grounds. These are beautiful
creatures. and ought to be much adj
mired at Lincoln Park, Chicago, where
| they will go. In certain districts of
| Tasmania these black swans are to
| be found in thousands, but they are
being rapidly exterminated. and have
| only recently been protected. I also
| have two pairs of butcher birds These
are carnivorous, and are noted for
their cruelty to smaller birds, cater
pillars grasshoppers, etc, which they
like to slaughter for the fun of the
thing, and impaie their victims on
barbed wire fences, on thistle thorns,
or anything else sharp. Five Tasma-
MAN plovers are in the collection,
strikingly pretty bird, which look as
if they were walking ON stills. A
dingo is also with the collection. It
is as pure blooded as it is possible
to obtain them nowadays, when they
mix so much with domestic dogs. It
is quite tame, and very friendly with
everyone, and is curious and hand
some to look at. 1t does not bark
dingoesf never bark-but if 1T gets
hungry. or lonesome, it will moan or
howl. In addition to these live ami
mails, I am taking four large cases
of mounted bird specimens and fossil
bones to the Smithsonian Institution
at Washington. These specimens are
mostly from Bass Strait, separating
Tasmania from the mainland of Aus
tralia. There are number of small
islands in the strait. which are
noted for their enormous sea bird
rookeries. I recently visited one of
these islands, on which there is
great city of gannets-a bird about
the size of a goose, with a bright yell
lowtopped head / named this city
@Gannetopolis." It was very interest
ing to watch these gannets in their
home life in this scity-the affection
they would show for their mates and
for their young, and the enormous
amount of fish they would bring in
from the sea, as provisions for their
homes. 1t is possible to traverse all
the streets of this wonderful city, adj
snire the fashionable attire worn by
tho people, and to peep into every
home as you pass by, and yet not
be fnterfered with by the birds, who
would take no more notice than if you
were one of them. Another wonderful
bird is the sooty petrol, or mutton
bird of commerce. These birds reach
their rooker;es in Bass Strait every
year on or about September %, almost
to a day, and burrow their nests
When they fly in from the sea, they
almost blacken the sky, they are so
numerous. The half-caste natives on
these islands make their living by the
mutton bird industry. They take the
young bird shortly after it is Matched,
kill it, extract the oil and fat from it,
and then pack the edible part of the
carcass in casks containing a strong
solution af salt. These are shipped
to different cities of Australia and
make cheap food for poorer classes
Of people, and for mining communi-
ties where fresh meat is difficult to
obtain. Nearly one million mutton
birds We're shipped from the Bass
Strait islands last season. They sold
in Tasmania for about ten shillings,
or $3.50, per hundred. The oil is used
chiefly for lubricating purposes. 1t
is said to have a medicinal value, like
cod liver oil.s The fat is used chiefly
| TO grease the sliding skids in the tim
| Der districts. The feathers find their
| market in Germany. The mutton bird
rookeries contain many venomous
snakes, and great care has to be ex-
| ercised to guard against snake bites,
while the young birds are taken from
their holes
| The Island of Tasmania is noted for
| its fire sheep-chiefly Merinoes. Shrop-
| shires and breeds The wool is
| OF exceptionally fine quality, and much
| OF 1t finds its way to the United
| states. Many of the stud sheep com
/ mand extremely high prices and are
! exported to other Australian States
| ana To South Africa. for breeding pur-
| poses The Australian sheepbreeders
| depend quite largely on Tasmanian
stud sheep to keep up the quality of
| their tlocks, for the Tasmanian eli
mate. being much cooler than on the
| mainland. seems. conducive to greater
4y-Ss