The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-11-10
THE. TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORMATION BUREAU
BY FREDERIC }. HAsKIN. Director.
WashIngton. d. G.
THE NATIONAL zoo.

has
unteer exhibits. Located on large
tract of wild land in the famous Rock
Creek park it is by nature such an
attractive home for birds and animals
that they come to live in its OF their
own accord; and these volunteer spec
linens are at least as interesting, to
that section of the public which is
aware of their existence, as the ones
in the cages and paddocks-
/ The squirrels, of course, are the
most numerous, and everyone knows
about them; they practically i've OH
the travelling public, which is gener-
Gus in the matter of peanuts But
there are few persons who know that
a flock of real wild turkeys, which
| came to the park of their own &C
cord, live in the little valley right be-
| hind the superintendent of1lce rms
bit of land is partly thick wood
land, and part of it is used as farm
where vegeta bles are raised for the
animals Few visitors ever go to this
part of the park, which is not more
than couple of acres, and upon 1t
the wild turkeys of their own will
| have lived and raised their young for
a great many years. The flock is al
ways small, and inasmuch as none OF
| the turkeys are killed, it is probable
that many of the birds raised there
| depart for neighboring woodlands,
| leaving in the zoo no more than the
little sanctuary will comfortably &C
| commodate.
| Rock Creek Park Game.
Partridges or Bob Whites have be-
come really numerous in the zoo
grounds within The past few years. On
fact they are numerous all over Rock
Creek park and in adjacent vacant
lots, it being not at all uncommon TO
flush a. fine cover within hundred
yards of Sixteenth Street, Connecticut
| Avenue, or some other busy thorough
fare On spring evenings the park
| he
with the whistles of the mating quail.
| Rabbits, though not so much in evil
dence are also numerous. In tact
| Rock Creek park undoubtedly serves
as a reservoir for game for adJacent
| Maryland counties, keeping small
| game abundant in them. The Park
authorities are anxious to increase its
usefulness and interest as haven Tor
wild life, and are trying to induce
Congress to give them enough money
| to build a fence that would keep out
dogs, cats and other predatory ami
mails If this were done, many other
| species of wild game, including the
various beautiful varieties of pleas
ants, could be turned loose to multi
| ply in their natural state.
| Recently the Park authorities have
given much time and thought to the
development of pond where they are
making a collection of American wild
fowl. 1t is great hit with the pub
|
who can here see all the varieties of
wild ducks and geese, and observe
their habits at short range. That the
pond and Its surroundings of shrub
| berry have been made to the taste OF
| the birds is shown by the fact that
little flock of wildwood duck drop in
| every evening, spend the night with
the captive birds whose wings are
clipped, and depart early in the morn
ing, before the crowds arrive.
Animals Happy in Captivity.
The National Geological Park is
considered the best in the world in
| the matter of natural advantages.
Many of the animals in captivity are
almost as well off as though they
were at large, so roomy are their
quarters. AS a result of this, the
| zoo receives a great many gifts and
| loans of animals, the owners of which
know that they will be well taken
| care of. For example, one of the
| greatest prizes now on exhibition is a
brown hyena. This animal, which
once roamed the sea beaches of
| South Africa, and was called the
and specimens are highly priced. The
one in Washington belongs to a pro-
fessional collector of wild animals.
who has deposited it here for safe
keeping until after the war, when he
can get a larger price for it..
| 1t is fortunate that the zoo gets
many gifts, for Congress is not very
liberal in its support Only $780,
| 600 year are given the management
| to meet all expenses; and after up
keep is paid, this leaves very little
for the purchase of new specimens
Under war conditions, in spite of all
the economies that can be practiced
such as raising food for the animals
on the premises, and feeding horse
meat instead of beef, it leaves prac-
tically nothing. Nevertheless, the
management has succeeded in extend
| ing the collection recently to include
some exceptionally interesting Fpeci-
MEMS The prize of all these recent
acquisitions is a blue, or glacier bear
| from Alaska. This rare and beautiful
variety of bear was discovered only
twenty years ago, and proba bly, not
more than fifteen or twenty skins of
| it have ever been brought to muse
ums, while almost nothing is known
about it in the wild state, except that
| it inhabits the glacier region of Alas
ka and is very rare and shy. The
superintendent of the park, Mr.. Ned
HOLSTER, learned that the postmas-
! ter at Yakutat, Alaska, had cub of
this species which he had purchased
! from an Indian hunter. The Zoologi-
/ cal treasury had not the funds to pur-
chase the animal, but a wealthy
Washingtonian came to the rescue
with the four hundred dollars neces-
sary, and the only blue bear in cap
tivity reached Washington in excel
lent health. In person he is very
small, smaller than an eastern black
bear, a has heavy fur OF a blush
gray color tipped with silver. fIe is
very active and amiable in disposition.
Gifts OF Wild Animals.
Another valuable bear was added
/ to the collection by Mr.. Roy Andrews
who headed an expedition sent to the
wilds of Western China by the Amer
can Museum of Natural History This
4 cub Himalayan bear is remarkabl y
/ docile. Mr.. Andrews carried him
/ half way around the world, and says
that the cub used to sleep in his arms
on cold nights. He was reluctant to
/ part with his pet, but realizing that a
! city flat is not much of a place to
raise a bear, he sent him 70 the zoo
since the Ia,.cl.a