The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-07-29
Frederic Haskin's Letter


| Washington. D. c., July 20
Suppose you wanted an ocelot or
/ mountain lion, would you know
F., where to go TO get it? Or suppose
! it is an imported white tailed deer
YOU seek, a wild cat, or brown
bear. Filling the demand for these
and 4 hundred other wild and tame
animals on a wholesale scale is
curious business, but thriving and
fairly large one. There are many
business concerns in the United
States engaged in the collection OF
animals from all parts Of the globe
and their sale 10 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 importation of canary birds.
Before the beginning of the World
war. canaries were imported into
the United States at rate of more
than a thousand a day. The record
for one year was reached shortly
before the outbreak of the wa,
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 must be i'm
ported or the shooting suspended
for a period of years while the
dwindled stock has a chance to
meltiply. The price for live Bob
White" quail is usually from $3.50
to $500 for each bird, depending
upon the size OF the order Noun
tain quail are quoted a little lower,
while turkeys 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 on fairly short notice
for about SIS. 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 peo-
pie and ZOOS. The prices Tor some
Of the big beasts range up to thou
sands of dollars. A good giraffe
will easily command $1,000. 70
illogical men say that there are
only about 20 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 hippopota-
mus can be seen in almost any col
lection of wild beasts imported from
other climes. The gorilla, of the four
great anthrapOid varieties, is very
scarce, the only one in the United
States having Gied last winter from
pneumonia. Good specimens of
either the rhino or gorilla are worth
at least $1,000.
Lions Not, Greatly Demanded.
Tigers command a better price
than lions. Right now lions are a
drug on the market, and some can
be obtained for as little as $3.50 or
$500. Lions in captivity often breed
well, and a considera BILE number
now make their homes in this coun-
try. Not many years ago the Ameri-
can bison had dwindIed to such
small numbers that a good speci-
men was worth a considerable sum,
but the efforts to preserve the
bea SITS, both wild herds and those in
captivity, have resulted in building
them up TO the point where all dan
ger of extinction is past. Conse-
quently they are not so valuable.
Elephants always command a
good price. The last two elephants
purchased for the ZOO in Washing
tor were small ones, and $4,000 was
paid for the pair. A full grown ele-
plant would be worth about this
much money. Elephants rarely
breed in captivity. but quite a num-
Der are caught every year in the big
elephant drives. By the way, ami
NAL men say the great age attrib-
uted to elephants by fiction writer's
is a product of their imaginations,
that the average length of an e1e-
plants life is so to GO years, and
that it is rarely indeed that an eIe-
plant reaches 100 years.