Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-03-15
DOG TO BE USED
AS LIONS NURSE
KING OF FOREST AND MATE
BORN SUNDAY AT zoo
KEEPER AT EASTLAkE ANXIOUS
TO RAISE MALE ANIMAL
Presses Canine Into Service as Foster
Mother and Believes Beasts
Will Get Along in
Harmony

E. B. Rice, animal keeper at the
Eastlake park zoo, was proud man
yesterday, for he had been presented
with a pair of baby lions, present
most persons would think not aecep-
table. The presentation was made at
10 o'clock yesterday morning when
Kitty, lioness, which has attracted
much attention at the zoo for two
years. gave birth to a pair of husky
lions, a male and female.
Keeper Rice is confident he can raise
the pair and is going to take every
possible precaution to raise at least
one.
For that purpose the male animal
was taken from his mother yesterday
afternoon and placed in the care of
dog, who will have the responsibility
of mother and will nurse the young
lion until he is strong enough to care
for and feed himself.
The dog was taken from litter OF
pups which she had been nursing and
placed with the baby lion, and Keeper
Rice has no doubt the strange pair
will get along in perfect harmony.
The lions are no larger than half
grown cat, but much more lively than
kitten. Only a favored few were
permitted to see the young lions, and
they will not pe exposed for view to
the general public for fifteen days.
A IlOleSS 10 d very
animal and If persons were allowed to
see the young soon after birth she
would become frightened and either
eat her offspring or in her endeavors
to shield them from the gaze of spec
tators would lie on them and crush
them to death. Keeper Rice stated
sometimes a mothe: licness will take
excellent care of the young for several
days and then suddenly kill them.
6o a IN
born in the zoo at Eastlake park and
Keeper Rice is anxious to raise them
to maturity. The lion that is being
nursed by the dog will also be given
beef broth and condensed milk, as it
REQUIRES more nourishment than the
dog can give.
. An unusually large crowd visited
Eastlake park yesterday by far the
most numerous this season. Every
thing at the park has been put in
first class condition ard the animals
are sleek and look as though they
rather liked the treatment given them
while in captivity.
Another attraction at the zoo which
was visited by most those present are
the baby nylghaus, or Indian antelopes,
as they are more commonly called.
The attempt to breed the Indian an
telope in this country has not been
successful and has been tried before
at Eastlake park without success, but
Keeper Rice has a pair of nylghaus he
claims are the finest specimens in the
United States. The animals are rare
and seldom found even in the best
zones, but the old male and female
parents of the babies were a gift to the
city of Los Angeles by Adolph Jahnke,
proprietor of the Palace cafe, who i'm
ported them from India at at cost of
$1,000.
The baby nylghaus are now four
months old and nearly half as large as
their mother, and growing rapidly. Mr..
Rice says he believes the antelopes
have lived so long there is no doubt
they will. attain their full growth and
make one of the most valuable addi-
lions to the zoo.
The Sunday spectators were disap-
pointed because they could not witness
the feeding of the animals. but very
few people know that all animals have
peculiar traits and there is one day in
the week when they will not partake
of food. Some animals have different
days, but by getting them used to one
day they will eat their food every other
day in the week, and Sunday is the
day when they are not fed.