Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-07-30


W lion, would you know where to so to
| get it? Or suppose it is an imported white
tailed deer you seek a wildcat, or a brown
bear. Filling the demand for these and
hundred other wild and tame animals on
wholesale scale is curious business but a
thriving and fairly large one. There are many
| business concerns in tie United States, en-
| gagged in the collection of animals from all
| parts of the globe, and their sale to private
| individuals, circuses and geological parks A
number of these firms are located along the
Mexican border.
The biggest part of the business is the i'm
portation of canary birds. Before the begin
ming of the world war, canaries were i'm
ported into the United Stat a rate of more
| than thousand a day. The record for one
year was reached shortly before the outbreak
of the war, when the government recorded the
entry of $4,000 canaries.
Another bird item covers such game birds
as quail, pheasants and wild turkeys. AS it
| is contrary to law to trap any game birds in
the United States, birds for stocking private
game preserves mus be imported the
shooting suspended for period of years while
the dWindled stock has chance to multiply.
The price for live Bob White quail is usu-
ally from $3.50 to $500 for each bird, de-
pending upon the size of the order. Noun
tain quail are quoted little lower, while tur-
keys of the wild variety will often cost as
much as SIT apiece.
| If for any reason a brown or black bear
should be desired, it may be secured u fairly
| short notice for about $75 Mountain lions,
| alive, cost as much as $3.50. The smaller and
commoner wild cat costs only about $40.
| For the larger animals, the whole demand
comes from the circus people and The
prices for some of the big beasts range up to
easily command $4,000. Geological men say
that there are only about twenty now in the
! United States, the largest group being that
| owned by one circus. Few ZOOS can boast the
| possession OF a giraffe.
Another animal which is rare in the United
| States is the rhinoceros. although it's cousin,
| the hippor tamus, can be seen in almost any
collection Of wild beasts imported from ether
Chimes The gorilla, of the four great anthra-
| poid varieties, is very scarce, the only one in
the United States having died last winter
| from pneumonia. Good specimens of either
the rhino or the gorilla worth at least
$4,000.
Lions Not Greatly in Demand
Tigers command better price than lions.
| Right now lio- s are drug on the market,
and some can be obtained for as little as $3.50
| or $500. Lions in captivity often breed we'll,
and a considerable number now make their
homes in this country Not many years ago
the American bison had dwindled to such
small numbers tt at a good specimen
worth considerable sum- but the efforts to
preserve the beasts both wild herds and those
in captivity, have resulted in building them
up to the point where all danger of eXtinc
ton is past. Consequently they are not so
valuable.
Elephants always command a good price.
The last two elephants purchased for the zoo
in Washington were small ones, and $4,000
was paid for the pair. A full grown elephant
would be worth about this much money. Ele-
plants rarely breed in captivity but quite a
number are caught every year in the big ele
plant drives. By the way, animal men say
the great age attributed to elephants by fic-
ton writers is product of their Magma
tions, that the average length Of an elephants
life is fifty to sixty years, and that it is rarely
indeed that an elephant reaches 100 years
1t is not an uncommon sight to find black
leopards in ZOOS and circuses. Contrary to
general belief, this is not a distinct species,
but sporadic occurrence among the big cats.
These are merely melanistic animals, occur
ring more frequently among leopards than
among the larger members of the feline fam
lily. The animals have in their makeup a
large share of pigment and just the op-
posite Of albino types, which completely lack
pigment. There have been cases of albino