"BRING'EM BACK ALIVE"

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 108, 9 May 1934, Page 10

"BRING'EM BACK ALIVE"

WILD-ANIMAL HUNTER

AN INTERESTING LIFE

SHIPWRECKED WITH ZEBRAS

All N interesting personality on the Wangauella, which arrived today from Sydney, was Mr. H. Edgell, who has spent many years of his life waAdering in strange and inhospitable countries hunting and capturing wild animals, birds, and reptiles for the world's menageries. For some years Mr. Edgell was manager for Carl Hagenbeck; the famous wild-aniniaf dialer, whose captures are to be seen in practically every zoo in the world.

When met by a "Post" representative on board the Wa'nganella, Mr. Edgell, who looks a typical African wild-game hunter, was very reluctant about giving, an interview. /After a little persuasion, however, he agreed to a "friendly chat," but added as he settled himself on a settee, "I have been made out such, a liar in the past that I have had to be introduced to myself.!' •■ ...-■■■•.■■

One gathered from Mr. Edgell's early remarks that he had had a particularly exciting and adventurous life, but on being prompted a little he lapsed into silence with the remark that his life had not been particularly unusual and its incidents were "not of much interest to anybody." He implied, too, that he did not place much faith in newspapermen because they were wont to_ distort facts. He was assured that' this was not the' case here. RARE ANIMAL SAVED. j ' Mr. Edgell said ; that he captured most of the wild animals in East Africa, and often travelled on the same ship with them to their port of disembarkation. On one occasion, he had been detailed to accompany thirty African zebras to St. Louis,'where he was to train them before the ■ public at an exhibition. He explained that the reason for this was to try to create a demand for this animal. The ship-on which he was ; travelling * with .the zebras, however, was wrecked off Cape Sagrez, Portugal. For.three nights and two days he remained on the ship in , an endeavour to/rescue the zebras and other animals which' were aboard, and his efforts were successful to the - extent' that ho saved eight zebras, several other animals, birds, reptiles, and the first specimen ever captured of a rare species of bush buck, called Tragelaphus speekei. This particular 'animal, he. said, was captured by Mr. Russell Roberts, a British explorer, at Lake Moero, German East Africa. The menagerie was rescued in fishing boats and was landed at Port Demar, the centre of the sardine industry of Portugal. Shortly after the wreck,* Mr. Edgell met Don Carlos, . the then King of Portugal, who, with his eldest son, was assassinated in Lisbon in 1908. With the surviving animals,, Mr. Edgell left Lisbon for Englandj and being determined to save the rare bush buck he kept it in his cabin with him. When surprise was expressed at this. Mr. Edgell only smiled and said. "I am very fond of animals, you know.1' PERMIT TO EXPORT REFUSED. Mr. Edgell said that one of his reasons for visiting Australia was to acquire specimens of wild life, but owing to the opposition of the Government he was unable to take anything out of the country. Ho. had been asked by tho curator, of' the London Zoo to obtain two platypuses and two .kookaburras, but the Australian Government would not give him a permit to export even these. "This broke me up," he said, "and now I am returning to England with a rare New Guinea cockatoo, which I have had for nineteen years, and two Australian terriers. I could not sec any reason for not allowing mo to take these specimens out of the country—it was sheer cussedness. I also had a chance of acquiring an albino galah, a rare type of the Australian roseate cockatoo. If ever I come back to Australia'it will be after opals." Samples of opals he had found in Australia were shown to Press representatives by Mr. Edgell, who stated that he had "some fine and rare stones which he intended presenting to the British Museum. One specimen, he said, was a complete oyster opalised, while another perfect stone weighed one and a quarter pounds. Asked what he intended to do when j he returned to England, Mr. Edgell said that he would probably breed shooting dogs and set. up a small zoo of his own.