The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-10-19
ARK CARRIES zoo
TO LONELY ANTWERP
New York Helps to Replace
Animals Sacrificed During
War Days.
BELGIUM MOURNED LOSS
Call for Beasts and Birds to
Fill Empty Cages Meets
Ready Response.

Somewhere on the high seas on her
way to Antwerp is the good ship Eng
lantier, Noah's Ark, carrying hun
dreds OF small animals from this city
to the Belgian port. In about two
weeks time another steamer. The In
der. will leave New York filled with
cages holding some of the great beasts
Of desert and jungle. elephants, lions
tigers and other creatures.
The destination Of these two consign-
ments is the great Antwerp Zoo. Tho
donor of the menagerie is the Bronx
Geological Society and the shipper of
these hundreds of wild creatures is the
Lloyd Royal Beige which. despite the
prevailing high freight rates. is carrying
these yowling, screening and kissing
passengers free of charge SO that Ant
werp again may be able to watch the
lion open his mouth and the monkeS
climb to the top of his cage And
thereby hangs a tale of Antwerps
troubles during the war.
How Antwerp Lost Animals.
The story was made public yesterday
agement of the sLloyd Royal Beige at
141 Broadway. 1t seems that when tho
authorities of Antwerp were notified by
the Germans that they must capituate
the city or suffer 1t to be bombarded
they went into conference. At first II
appeared as though tho enemy would be
defied. The Antwerp Zoo one of the
finest and biggest in Europe, Is located
in the very heart Of the city, because it
SnNn lii IL.
little town and its founders never ex-
pected 1t to become one of Europe's
greatest port communities. So the city
grew up around the menagerie with
densely populated streets and to be
awakened by the roar OF restless lion
was no new sensation to the average
Antwerper
When 1t looked as though the author
tiles would rather submit to lombard
ment than agree to evacuation II was
decided by the Zoo authorities to kill all
the ferocious beasts for fear that a stray
Shell would smash the cages and set
the wild occupants free. Soon there &C.
cupants free. Soon there occurred a
great slaughter of lions, tigers, hyenas
and other animals Then capitalization
was decided on after all and the rest of
the Zoos denizens were permitted to
live. But after a while food became
very scarce and since 1t would not do to
deprive men, women and children of any
of the meats or grains the animals
needed, application was made to the
committee for the relief of Belgium to
add to its shipments sufficient quantity
of foodstuffs to keep the animals nour-
ished.
The application went all the way up
to Herbert Hoover, only to be turned
down fatty by that American official, who
decided that food was too precious and
its shipment from the United States 10
Belgium too difficult to permit one single
pound Of 1t to go into the stomachs of
wild animals Consequently the author
tiles in charge OF the Zoo signed whole
sale death warrant for their dumb
charges and one by one they were killed
off, until at the end of the war there
were just a few alive, the feeding Of
which presented no problem of any sort
Call for Exhibits.
Recently the Antwerp Geological So
ciety got into communication with Prof
William Hornaday, director OF the
Bronx Zoo, and asked him what he could
do to fill the empty cages of the Antwerp
menagerie. His answer was that what
ever animals he could possible spare,
from snakes to tigers and from birds to
elephants. the society he represented
gladly would donate, providing means
could be found to transport them safely
and cheaply.
1t SO happens that M Arthur Brys, the
president of the Lloyd Royal Beige,
whose home is at Antwerp. is one OF the
leading spirits in his city's geological so
cety. He Immediately offered all the
needed cargo space for the transporta-
ton of the Zoos new population. Orders
were cabled to New York TO cooperate
with DIR. Hornaday, and the first result of
these consultations was the sailing OF
the Englantier, which carried monkeys,
birds reptiles and whole collection OF
small mammals. as the first installment
of the live shipment DR.. Hornaday IL
now assembling and caging the larger
animals which are to make up the rest
of the collection, and these viii be
shipped in the hold OF the Royal Beige
steamship Indier.