Evening star., 1948-05-31
stors, Men and Atoms ~ ..
EIephont Shrews Arrive
At Zoo for MuIuriu Study
Tiny Animals From Egyptian Sud,
To Be Used in Research
By Thomas r. Henry

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Flown from the Anglo Egyptian Sudan, los
elephant shrews arrived at the National Zoo
logical Park yesterday. These strange, shy
little creatures, about the size Of mice with
noses like the trunks of elephants, promise to
be of inestimable value In the Naval Medical
Research Institutes studies Of malaria.
They are among the few small mammals
subject to this devastating human disease. An
outstanding need in malarial research has
been for cheap experimental animal whose
blood does not differ too greatly from that OF
man. In the past most experiments have
been carried out with birds. The malarial
parasite in birds diverges widely from the
human type. and bird blood cells are quite
different from those of mammals.
Monkeys and apes are subject to malaria.
These are far too expensive animals, however.
for experiments involving great numbers. 1t
is hoped first to breed the elephant shrews.
OF more significance however, Is the possi-
bility Of transferring the malarial parasite from
their blood streams to those Of rats and mice
which can be bred by the thousands.
Closer to Man Than Rat.
The shrew is much closer to q rat than to
a monkey or q man. On the other hand, 1t il
much closer to a man than Is a rat. 1t belongs
remotely to the general lines of human descent
through lenurs and monkeys from the tree
shrews of 100000 years ago, first known
ancestors of the anthropoid race.
1t was first reported more than 80 years ago
that these little creatures were subject to =
form of malaria. With the present pressing
need for a suitable experimental animal, .
major object Of the Naval medical group ac-
companying the Navy University of California
African expedition was to obtain some of the
little creatures with malarial parasites In their
blood
They were found in q quite limited area east
of the Nile river in the neighborhood Of the
towns of Torit and Kapota. For some reason
they never cross the Nile. In their habitat,
low land of hard-baked clay wastes in which
are grass islands," they are very abundant.
Large numbers are captured and eaten by the
natives. They are strictly nocturnal animals.
who form burrows and runways in the grass
islands. They are quite delicate. The first
group captured died so rapidly that only three
finally reached Washington by plane. The
second group were brought personally in care
of Chief Pharmacist Mates Deaner Lawless
and Trenton Ruebush, and william Terry.
executive oticer of the expedition. Fed on
oatmeal cruel and finely chopped hard-boied
eggs, all reached Washington in good condition.
Several of them became quite tame. Among
themselves the little creatures are cannibals
and care must be taken to keep males apart.
Special Flights Set PIP.
The Navy and Air Transport Command set
up special flights from Juba in the Anglo
Egyptian Sudan to Tripoli, to Port Lyautey
in Algeria. to Washington, so that as few a.
possible would be lost en- route. Once here
they were turned over to Zoo Director William
NJ Mann who has had unusual success in the
past in keeping alive rare small mammals.
En- route garbled message reached the Air
Transport Command at Port Lyautey that
three elephants for whom transport must be
provided Immediately, would arrive in q few
hours Mr.. Terry and the Navy chiefs found the
airport in CONSERVATION when they finally
alighted with their charges
Work at the Naval Research Center will be
started promptly in charge Of DR.. Clay Huff,
one of the countrys foremost authorities on
malaria. If the parasites can be transferred
to rats, it will mark a major step in malaria
research.
The eyes of the shrews also offer interesting
problems. They are ideally adapted for seeing
in the dark, quite different from the eyes
of cats, for example. Studies of the nature
of the dark-seeing mechanism will be made.