The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-07-29

! It is net an uncommon sight IN
find black leopards in zoos end cir
| cuses. Contrary to general belief.
thi sis not distinct species. but a
sporadic occurrence among the big
cats. These are merely meIanistic
animals, occurring more frequently
! among leopards than among the
larger members of the feline family
The animals have in their make-un
a large share of pigment, and are
! just the opposite of albinu types.
which completely lack pigment.
There have been cases of albino
tigers and leopards. There is at
least one pelt of a totally blaSk IL
! ger in the United States.
On the fur of the black leopard,
! in the proper light, the outlines OF
the spots may be seen easily. This
over-supply of pigment in some 9TH
er birds and animals is not unCom-
mon, some varieties of hawks often
being much darker than the ordi
nary color of their brothers and sis
tiers.
The offspring of a black leopard
might all be the usual spotted ami
mails. but in some other kinds Of
beasts, by careful selection and
breeding, most of the young ones
born will be augmented to such an
extent that all will present an ap-
pearance very different from the
original animal. In one notable in
stance the darker animals have been
produced in commercial Quanti-
ties, and excellent specimens CON-
mand prices a hundred times as
great as the lighter cOlored speci-
mems of the breed.
This case is that of the so-called
silver black fox. This fox is ex-
actly the same as the common red
one. Occasionally in the United
States among a litter of young foxes
a melanistic puppy was discovered.
and in Canada this was more COM
mon. Sometimes some of thu young
ones would be darker on some parts
of the pelt, and this skin is known
commercially as the "cross fox"
Breeding Silver Foxes.
Careful selection of the blacklist
of the melanistic foxes from genera
ton to generation developed the
silver black fox, some specimens Of
which are worth $4,000. as compared
with price Of about $50 which the
common red fox brings.
Fox farms where these beasts are
raised for the fur they bear have
become quite common in the United
States and Canada. The department
of agriculture says there are about
400 fox farms in this country. de-
Cd w 70 -
silver black foxes, and that there
are more than 5000 such foxes now
in the United States. Several humid
red are killed each year for the fur
trade.
In developing the silver black
fox, it was found that in parts Of
Canada, particularly Prince Edward
Island, the black fox puppies oc-
CURED more frequently than in the
United States, and most of the black
foxes imported here CAM from
Prince Edward Island.
Canada, according TO the figures
in the possession of the department
of agriculture, now possesses about
5000 silver black foxes in captivity
The black fox and the black leo
!
forms are common enough not 10
be freaks, and therefore have a le-
ultimate place in ZOOS. Most ami.
NAL experts contend that cut and
out freaks have not, as they are not
representatives of any breed of ami
mails, but are accidents of nature.
However, Superintendent Hollister,
of the Geological park in Washing
ton says he is continually having
offered to him five-legged calves,
two-headed seTpents, and every 9th
er conceivable strange formation Of
animal life. Without exception,
these offers are refused. The only
beasts approaching an unusual type
of animal harbored in the Washing
ton zoo are a cross between 4 female
ass and a zebra, and a cross between
a male zebra and a horse. These,
Mr.. Hollister pointed out, were not
freaks, but such economic expert
ments in animal industry as the
cross between the bison and the
common COW