ESCAPES FROM THE ZOO

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 81, 6 April 1938, Page 13

ESCAPES FROM THE ZOO

“ESCAPES from the Zoo are, fortunately, few and far between,” said Mr. David Seth Smith in a 8.8. C. address, “because all the dangerous creatures at any rate are confined in escape-proof enclosures; but, all the same, there have been escapes from time to time in the past. Some thirty years ago Sam and Barbara, a celebrated couple of Polar Bears, managed to break and unfasten the lock of their enclosure.

“A carpenter, coming to work early one foggy winter morning, came face to face with Sam’s huge bulk. Both man and bear were startled by the encounter, but it was the bear that turned tail and ran home, encouraged by a rap on the nose from a piece of wood the man was carrying. The whole zoo staff was called and a search made for Barbara, who was found seated upon the steps of the restaurant.

She was far more difficult to manage as she charged all who approached her; but one brave young keeper, acting as live bait, persauded her to chase him as far as the gate of her den, where he cleverly dodged her as she entered.

“One day the keeper of the Reptile House reported that a cobra was missing from its cage. It was winter time and an animal so sensitive to cold was not likely to have left the warmth of the house, but the night watchman was taking no risks, and every night, as he went his rounds, his legs was carefully swathed in haybands in case the dangerous reptile should attack him. It was not until many months later that, in removing some floor boards in

the Snake House, the cobra was dis-

covered, in splendid condition, having

fed to repletion on rats. 1