Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-30
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

| Of the creek, coming out by the bear
dens. Some years ago favorite route
was down the path at the east side of
the bridge, and thence across the stones
In the creek, but we imagine that this
road Is no longer feasible. Or Is It?
We don't know. It has been many years
since we hoped across those stones
One Of the most entertaining sights
at the Zoo at present Is furnished by
one Of the lion cubs.
| This little fellow takes himself very
seriously, and virtually practices ct
being q lion, with the result that he
has great crowd watching him every
day.
His strutting. his pacing to and fro,
ana MS method OF working up his roar,
all combine to keep the crowd interested
and amused, because he takes his busi-
ness OF being king of the beasts so seri-
ously
Looking fiercely from left to right, he
begins to gather power with his infantile
voice, until presently he Is roaring away
at true leonine tempo. The sightseer
wonders what Tom, the house cat,
would do II this big little fellow should
come walking through the living room
door.
The owner of Tom Is tempted to be-
seech the Zoo fathers to permit him to
| take the lion cub home for the eve
| ming, just to see what the domestic
| cat would do when this desert cousin
should come swinging In on those thick,
sturdy legs.
Even baby lion, of course, is pounds
heavier than the largest domestic house
| cat. Yet 1t Is a question whether an
| experienced alley cat could not lick
the tar out OF cage full Of lion cubs.
Most of the creatures were quiet in
their cages. The baby chimpanzee had
| his back to the people, and would not
| turn around, while the gorilla insisted
| on hanging head down from his elevat-
ed platform.
The sight of the python with wide
open mouth held the attention Of some.
| but we preferred to leave the rather
odorous precincts to go into the open
| We have always liked the Wcuna, q
modest, shy creature, yet possessed Of q
very friendly disposition. Mostly the
animals at the Zoo do not know us.
| Our visit means nothing in the life Of
the bear or the tigers; as for the baby
lion, it roared away without giving us q
| glance.
With the vicuna all is different. We
had not seen her for several years, but
/ ItlUItlcIlL VIC CdItlC LII cl8Llb BIC IuIA
to the wire Of her Enclosure and began
to kick up her heels with Joy. When
we were sure no keeper was looking We
slipped her a handful Of fresh grass,
which she ate with two well placed
champs Of her dainty lips.
She ran backward for a few PAGES.
| then came to the wire again, as If
afraid we would go away too soon. She
need not have worried, however. We
| were so grateful for the attention she
| showered upon us that We could have
| remained there all day If a keeper had
| not come along with a suspicious look
in his eye. No doubt he thought We
had been feeding the vic beefsteak
| or something.
With backward turning looks we
walked away, knowing full well that
| no other creature in the Zoo remem-
bered US, or gave two whoops whether
| we came or went away. AS far as We
could see, the vicuna kept running
to the wire, looking in our direction,
| pleading with her soft eyes for more
grass. We felt quite sure that she
| would not lie awake in the dark, how
| ever, or ever be dissatisfied, or be de-
| mented with the mania OF owning
things. She owned no car, nor radio
set, and never attended banquets or
listened to an after dinner speech.
! Lucky vicuna!