Imperial Valley press., 1936-09-20
Case OF "MuchaChO" Who Was
OH dIISC NdoCOI MuCI1dCl
Found Dead In Pool After
Terrific Battle With Pal
By Tom Mead

AOill NlCdd
1 AVE animals ever been
II known to commit suicide? ?
In the society of animal train
ers and zoo attendants, many are
the tall stories told in support of
the theory that wild animals in
captivity do sometimes take their
own lives.
Next to fishermen, animal men
possess notable weakness for
drawing the long bow" espe-
cially when warmed by a cheer
ing cup and an open-mouthed
audience of the uninitiated.
Fred Chatten, head keeper of
Fleishhacker Zoo in San Fran
cisco, makes no claims to settling
the controversy one way or an
other. Out of years of experience
in dealing with animals, Chatten
has garnered many strange sto-
ries, one of which has a distinct
bearing on this particular phase
of wild animal life-and death.
The story, as related a little
wistfully by Chatten, concerns
the blasted romance of two giant
polar bears and the subsequent
death of one of them under cir
cumstances which possess the
elements of drama and mystery.
Laid In the vast wilderness of
Alaska's icy wastes, the yarn
opens when c. P. Hale, official Of
the Bristol Bay Packing Com
pany, heard from the natives sto-
ries Of a family of polar bears
which frequented hideout on the
edge Of a small fishing village.
In the cold, moonlight glare of
the Arctic nights, it was a
strange spectacle to observe the
family Of Papa Bear, Mama Bear
and the two little bears stealing
their way over a frozen trail to
their hidden lair on the outskirts
of the village.
"A /ELL known and liked by
w the habitants, the ami
mails were practically considered
part of the township and were
never molested.
In return they respected the
compact of peace, and never in
truded upon the privacy of the
human members of the village.
1t was with considerable diff
Guilty that Mr.. Hale persuaded
the natives to secure for him the
small members of the bear fam
lily.
At last the deal was made. A
night was selected when the ia
ther of the tribe was away on a
hunting expedition.
Treacherous loops of wire were
set in the known path of the
bears. AS the cold dawn broke
over the lonesome trail, men from
the village stole warily to the
traps
AS was expected, the mother
bear had evaded the traps and
left her two offspring ensnared
in the concealed loops.
1.-The two baby bears weighed
only $50 pounds when we released
them from the traps" Mr.. Hale
said. "They were alarmed and
very disconnected at being sep
arated from their parents.
For weeks we had to feed
them from milk bottles and it
was only through exercising the
greatest care that we ever got
them safely to San Francisco, We
never saw the mother bear or the
father bear again"
When the baby bears were pre-
sented to the San Francisco zoo
in 1880, Chatten and his assist
ants rubbed their hands with
much glee.
rXPERTS IN the care and hous-
ing of polar bears were con-
suited. Plans were Immediately
laid for the construction of
beautiful new home for the rap
idly growing denizens of the far
north.
who knows" thought Keeper
Chatten, with ordinary luck we
might, after while, have many
little polar bears to add to the
fame of the institution"
The children of San Francisco,
to say nothing of the grownups,
Immediately fell in love with the
two huge Alaskan testers.
Many were the idle hours stolen
from school and whiled away in
front of the new bear grotto. 1t
was great sport to watch the two
bears dunking each other in the
chill waters of the pool. diving
for scraps of food and making
playful passes as each other with
paws almost the size of an ele-
plants foot; paws capable of
ripping man wide open in one
vicious slash.
1t was perfectly evident to all
concerned that the bears were
having just as good time as
their appreciative audience. They
.,1~1 o,.ro of ~. faa< that tt,1x,