TWO QUEER BABIES

Evening Star, Issue 22026, 11 May 1935, Page 5

TWO QUEER BABIES

HOW THEY CHANGED COLOUR Once again the reptile house at the Zoo has an interesting nursery, a horned chameleon from Kenya having become the mother of two most pecu-liar-looking youngsters. The parent reptiles are green-grey m colour, have three large horns on the “ forehead,” and are about eight or nine inches long from head to tail. The babies, however, are barely one and a-haif inches long, and quite half their length, including the tail, consists of head, half the head space being taken up by their prominent eyes. Their colouring is normally a purplish grey, but oven when only a few hours old .they wore able to change their colour. • .■, ~ ‘ , When placed in a brightly lighted cage they looked a greyish white, but when taken out into a darker servicepassage they became a dark blackish grey. They are feeding on banana flies, and it is hoped that they will thrive. , . . A non-venomous snake from Malaya, known as an ornate tree snake, puzzled its keepers. One morning the reptile, was found in tho next-door apartment. It was taken back home, but was later discovered in the next cage but one. Once more the tree snake was carried home, and since then it has not strayed; but some days passed before the keepers solved the mystery of how it managed to change its residence. The explanation is that the snake,, which is about as thick as a pencil, managed to get through tho ventilation grilling at the back of the cage and then travelled along a tiny groove inside the wall which communicated with the ventilation grille next door. Then once again it had slipped through d hole into the den. The Zoo’s hen ; emu is finding her mate rather erratic. Last November the cock emu, whose duty it. is to incubate any eggs laid by the hen, turned unseasonably broody, and was so anxious to have some eggs- to sit on that he followed the female emu round and -round the paddock digging holes in front of her to encourage her to lay. As she knew that was not the time for eggs the hen emu became very irritated, and after some days grew so furious that she challenged him to a fight. The keeper intervened , before the birds had a chance to injure one another, and they were separated to prevent further disputes. After a time the male emu grew sensible, and was allowed to return to his mate. All went well until the end of February, which is the emu’s usual time for nesting; but then when the hen started to lay the cock emu refused to take the slightest interest in the eggs. . The keeper, however, has, stored the eggs in a warm cupboard, and if the cock emu changes his mind the eggs will bo returned to his paddock.