Evening star., 1925-08-09

result 40 wild animals were brought
to Rock Creek Park at the end of the
circus sea son. They crowded to ca
pacity all the pens and cages which
Mr.. Blackburn had available. While
the animals We're in Washington most
of the population of the National
Capital in those days took time TO go
out and visit the wild animal fair,
This was a stepping stone which led to
the development Of city-wide interest
in the Zoo and its inmates-an inter
est which has been increasing steadily
from that time to this.
The Washington Zoo during re-
cent years under the active direction
of Mr.. Blackburn has made the best
record of any similar establishment
in the country in the successful rails
ing of young wild beasts. What ap-
plies to the difficulties attached to
raising young turkeys and chickens
is equally forceful when interpreted
in the terms of baby tigers, lions and
"rhinos.' 1t is a mighty stiff assign
ment to tide the young over the first
six months of their existence. During
a recent year, Headkeeper Blackburn
raised all but 2 of the 1877 young ami
mails born in that IL months in the
Washington Zoo. 1t was through
neither neglect nor carelessness that
the two lion cubs died. 1t was simply
a case of a young mother that neg
lected her young. This is quite COM
mon in the case of tigers or lions that
bear their first young.
MIR. BLACKBURN told me that
4'A there was no particular family
or species of the wild animal fair
which could be criticized fiagrantly
because of the difficulties associated
with raising them. For that mat
ter, it's a hard task TO raise any of
them. Pumas and leopards have the
bad habit of occasionally devouring
their young. Lionesses and tigresses
sometimes abandon their babies. I'm
der captive or zoo conditions such
pests as reccoons and opossums some
times gain entrance to the pens and
destroy or carry off the young of some
Of the smaller animals or birds.
'One of the best mothers in the
Washington Geological Park is a huge
hippopotamus that weighs more than
% barrels Of -four. She raised three
fine youngsters in the course of four
years, which is a remarkable record
for an African hippo"
Yes, there are several bottle babies
every season out at the Zoo. 1t is
difficult to raise the young wild beasts
on cows milk, but Mr.. Blackburn, by
the exercise of pafnstaking patience,
has met with wonderful success in
this emergency treatment. 1t is as
much fun as a Punch-and-Judy show
to watch the baby wild beasts master
the mechanics of the nursing bottle
filled with milk. When ii comes to a
matter of food, however, these self
same beasts of the jungle are apt pu-
pills in learning how to procure and
assimilate the same. That is the
clever ingenuity which they apply to
the homely enterprise of familiariZing
themselves with the rubber r-stoppered
bottle.
A certain tiger mistress at the
Zoo refused to take care of her
quartet of cubs some time ago. In
stead of fondling the youngsters, this
irate mother cuffed them about. AS
result of her rough treatment of the
young Mr.. Blackburn had to remove
the cubs from the mothers cage and
raise them by hand. That he did
mighty good job you will admit when
you see these beautiful tigers, now
we'll grown-some of the outstanding
wild .easts in the Rock Creek Park
neighborhood. Curiously enough. the
main food of these tiger cubs was
ground pigeon meat.
Str" ''gest of all the novelties which
you netimes see at the geological
gardens IS the sight OF an infant camel
being raised on a bottle. A camel at
birth weighs about 80 pounds and by
the time the youngster is able to walk
around readily he is considerably
larger than a good-sized calf. Where
young camels are raised on cows
milk, 1t is essential to continue the
bottle feeding system until the juve-
niles are about one year old. BY that
time, they are accustomed to hay,
grain and grass and eat practically
the same feeds which are relished by
the work horse or dairy cow
Young Jumbo, the baby of the ele-
phant family, is another youngster
whose grotesque appearance and un-