The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-05
OTHER ZOOS THAN THAT AT AVONDALE
 STARTED HUMbLY Interesting History of Mon- ster National Geological
 Park at Washington FOUNDED BY LANGLEY ABOUT p YEARS AGO Thousands of Children Make It Their Play Ground-Contains 1400
 Animals and Covers 167
 Acres of Ground

| Enthusiasts who bewall the fact that the city of Birmingham is unable to do more for the Avondale zoo, admittedly one of the most deserving institutions in Bir- mingham, need not feel discouraged for other cities have had difficulty in get ting their zoos started.
 | There is probably no better known ZOO | in the United States than the National Geological park at Washington save per- haps the monster zoo at New York Twenty-Five years ago this zoo did not ex- ist Today 1t contains over 400 animals | and covers l67 acres of land.
 | A very interesting history of the Ma ticnal geological park is issued by the Smithsonian institute and follows: The Washington Zoo l Just 25 years ago, a congressional act placed the tract of land purchased the previous year for a national geological park under the direction of the Smith sonian institution. This land, compris- | ing about 167 acres in what is known as | the Rock Creek valley, is located a short distance beyond the confines of the city | of Washington. Here are housed and coralled nearly 14oo animals, birds and rep tiles from all parts of the world. under the care of Dr. Frank Baker, superinten- dent.
 l The Washington zoo, as it is popularly known. is the outgrowth of a small collec- ton of living animals which for several years had been assembled in sheds and l paddocks adjacent to the Smithsonian building in the Mall, where they were kept primarily for scientific study, al 1 though they were a constant source of interest to the public. Dr. Samuel Pier pont Langley, the then secretary of the | institution, however desired to improve matters, both for the animals themselves and the public. and consequently under took to interest Congress in a national
 geological park, with the result mem tioned above.
 | His selection of location was the one finally chosen by Congress. It would be 1 impossible to find in this latitude sit
 uation better adapted to the preservation of wild animals combining as it does exposures of every variety-sunny slopes and cool, shady hilsides, level meadows and rocky cliffs-affordng an abundance of excellent water, and sufficiently near
 the city to make it easily accessible to the public.
 The act establishing the park declared one of it's purposes to be the 'instruc-
 ton and recreation of the people, which it serves admirably; thousands of children
 make it their playground, babies dig in the sand boxes or sleep in the pleasant
 shade. small children wade in the creek and play on the rocks older ones play
 ball and tennis on the lawns in summer
 and skate on the ponds in winter, while all ages picnic in the shady woods. Schools i come en masse to pursue their nature
 studies, and teachers to extend their knowledge of the wild birds. animals and plants of the region. On Easter Monday very popular holiday in Washington, countless adults and children flock there to indulge in the pastime of rolling. The park vies for popularity with the White House grounds on this occasion. Last year the visitors on Easter Monday numbered 57,000
 | Buildings Are Grouped
 Most of the buildings are grouped with in a comparatively small area on hill loca ted in the central part of the park. The largest is the lion house, which con- l tains most of the large cats. There are represented specimens of the lion. tiger. puma, leopard jagua, lynx, serval and ocelot, and many other interesting anil mals
 1 Behind the lion house is the monkey 1 house, where some 40 monkeys of va rious species maintain a continuous vaudeville show to the great joy of the visitors. One of the most mischievous of this tribe is a mandrill named Nap per" He stands in the front part of his cage apparently bored and listless, but if an unwary visitor attempts to arouse him by thrusting out an uni brella or a hat he becomes active in stantly. and seizing the object in his | powerful hands, he tears it to pieces. | In spite of the watchfulness of the keepers, he has to his discredit the de- struction of 59 umbrellas and over 60 | hats, among which Is policeman's helmet.
 1 Near at hand is the bird house, which with a large flight aviary built over a wooded stream, and some smaller ones, confine nearly 700 birds, including 172 different species. There Is another good sized building known as the antelope house, wherein are to be seen many specimens of this animal in various forms and sizes. There is the bontebok, the hartebeest, the waterbuck, the gnu, and the great ox-like eland, the largest of them all, together with fleet footed | gazelles. many of which are killed in | the east to obtain their skins for water sacks One gazelle from India, with pe-
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