Evening star., 1949-05-04
Mystery Zoo Killings
Believed Traced 10
Keeper in Frankfurt
BY Dovid M. kiehol
Fersisn Correspondent Of The Ssor and
me Chieoon Deitv News

FRANKFURT. Germany. May 4.
Postwar Germany has had its
share of weird occurrences but
none Is stranger than the case
of the poisoned ZOO.
Il has It's origin, apparently. in
the bitter enmities which seem
TO swirl about the Frankfurt zoos
youthful director, DR.. Bernhard
Grzimek, whose promotional wiz
ardry restored the war-ravaged
apimal park to its former splen-
dor.
1t has It's mysterious motive
and It's unbelievable suspect. now
in jail here.
And 1t has its fantastic assort-
ment Of ingredients: a little
known but easily obtained chemi-
cal suddenly turned lethal; a
cache Of schnapps in a bombed
out basement: bits of bread in a
workman's pocket and. for the
lurid minded. dash Of sinister
Communist plot.
Finally. 1t has its victims, go
animals worth $40. 900. that range
from sick elephant and a dead
buffalo through rare baboons and
common fowl, to the laboratory
rabbits sacrificed to solve series
Of crimes spread over IA months.
Case Is Enigma. 4
Although the case remains an
enigma the story of the Zoo is
largely that of DR.. Grzimek him
self. DR.. Grzimek came here after
the war, on bicycle an American
soldier gave him for mauser
pistol. He worked in a city office
but as an Army veterinarian and
student of animal PSYCHOLOGY he
had his eye on the Zoo. then an
empty bombed-out shell with
nothing left but an ancient bear
cage and a dozen animals.
DR.. Grzimek proposed to re-
create 1t on his own. He pro-
NOTED stunts. induced a circus
to use the grounds, and other
wise raised funds by hook or
crook. In short time 26 build
i1gs had been restored, about
1000 animals purchased and, by
last June. Germany's second old
est Zoo was again a going con-
Germ.
That is. q thousand animals
minus whatever perished by the
hand OF an unseen poisoner. who
first struck in November. 1947.
DR.. Grzimek had been hailed
into an American Military, Gov
eminent court. He had "falsi-
fied' his "fragebogen" or question
sheet since he had neglected to
mention his prewar employment
by O Nazi ministry Of agriculture.
Fined. But Keeps Job.
He was fined but kept his job.
Four days later a female elephant.
Kithany, and zebra became i'll.
Kithany survived but the zebra |
died. Post mortems showed moth
ing 20 q chemical analysis was
made. 1t disclosed the presence
Of sodium fluoride. a tasteless.
odorless powder used In photo
graphic etching, which dissolves
easily In water.
But no clue to the phantom
killer was obtained. Frankfurt's |
police say the poison could have
been thrust through animal bars
by any of the hundreds Of the
zoos daily visitors.
Unsatisfied DR.. Grzirnek made
his own investigation. He tried
the chemical on laboratory ami
mails and found 1t required six
to 10 hours to kill. Since the
Zebra had died in the morning,
obviously the poison had been
administered during the night.
Paper Attacks Grzimek.
In January 1948, local Com
munist paper loosed a savage at
tack on DR.. Grzimek for his en-
ployment background. He was
removed from his post and order
ed to face a German denazif1ca-
tion tribunal. It took two months
to clear DR.. Grzimek but In the
interval the poisoner went to work
In earnest.
Forty-six animals died, mostly
monkeys. Sodium fiuoride at
tacks the blood's calcium supply,
then the heart-and all the ami
mails showed these symptoms.
Hardly had DR.. Grzimek re-
turned to his job when a Frank
furt lawyer filed a 26-count in
dictment. It accused the direc-
tor of appropriating food and
fuel from the zoo. DR.. Grzimek
was cfeared-after four months.
but this time no animal deaths
were added to his woes. /
There matters stood until jan
uary 10 of this year, when the
killer apparently for the last time
struck again.
But his victim was a favorite