CATCHING FISH FOR THE ZOO

Northern Advocate, 11 July 1936, Page 1 (Supplement)

CATCHING FISH FOR THE ZOO

ADVENTURES ON THE HIGH

SEAS

*pHE capture of wild animals, such

Wealth of Adventure.

as lions and tigers, for exhibition purposes offers obvious possibilities of high adventure. The obtaining of aquatic creatures at first sight appears to offer less in the way of thrills, but behind a number of the peaceful-looking tanks in the Aquarium of the London Zoo lies many a tale of difficulties overcome, writes E. G. Boulehger in the “Observer.”

In the first place, the capture of many of v the most interesting animals seen in the public aquaria has only recently been made possible. Not only are special nets and traps necessary for the taking alive, without injury, of aquatic animals required for exhibition, but their safe transit is often a matter of the greatest difficulty, and unachievable without up-to-date apparatus and modern means of conveyance, such as the aeroplane. Big Problems. ' When the distance from sea to exhibition tank amounts to hundreds of miles, the difficulties to be faced might daunt the most enterprising collector. It so happens that relatively common fish, valued at only a. few pence per pound in the food market, may be literally worth their weight in gold by the time they face the public in the London Zoo. Safe conveyance of live fish often entails large tanks with pumps to keep the travelling water in circulation and special apparatus to maintain the correct pressure and temperature in transit. A few hardy fish may travel long distances packed merely in wet weeds. A twenty-pound pike from near Coventry thus recently reached the Zoo in good condition. African lung-fish, which can sleep, through a drought buried in mud, arrive at Regent’s Park alive, walled up in a sun-dried ball of clay, and those who hunt this fish for the Aquarium do so by simply digging them out of the dried river bed, much as one might unearth potatoes from a field. Only the Eel Survived. Relying as the Zoo does upon all sburces for its supply of exhibits, the manner in which these are forwarded sometimes displays more- good - will than forethought. Thus a collector in South America, with more energy than brains, not long ago dispatched to the Aquarium a collection of rare tropical fishes. Unfortunately, a young electric eel formed part of this collection, and since this fish earns its living by “shocking” other fish to death, it is riot surprising that only the eel survived the journey. Speed of conveyance is an important factor in stocking a public aquarium. The London Zoo receives annually supplies of the delicately constituted Sea Horses from Arcachon in the Bay cf Biscay, and these cover part of the journey by air liner. The Octopus is a difficult animal to transport, since sudden fright may cause it to expel a quantity of inky fluid which, in a confined body of water, tends to poison the ariimal itself. The Zoo receives a fairly constant supply at all seasons from the coast of Madeira, for the Union Castle mail steamers from that island are now fitted for the purpose with large travelling tanks through which the water from the sea is constantly circulated. Care and diplomacy are needed in handling this active and wary mollusc. Some years ago a large specimen brought to London so firmly wedged itself between the heating pipes of its travelling tank that no force could effect its dislodgment and as a result it was, perforce, allowed to return to its native waters. Great Enterprise. Anomalous as it may seem, many of the Zoo Aquarium’s exhibits entail the greatest enterprise in their capture. The Flat Lobsters of Madeira need great skill and endurance on the part of their hunters, since this crustacean, unlike its less sophisticated northern cousin, will never enter a lobster pot. As a result, these lobsters are caught by native divers. The animal, by powerful strokes of its tail, travels backwards at high speed and only divers of exceptional resource and endurance succeed in bringing the quarry to the surface. Few Aquarium visitors suspect how the brilliant golden and light blue coral fishes of the Dutch East Indies come to reach Regent’s Park. These little fish make their home within the bodies of giant sea anemones some

two feet across, repairing to this strange refuge on the slightest hint of danger. The diver, knowing this, brings the anemone to the surface and empties the living contents into a bucket of water. Though the process

sounds simple, it can, when prosecuted among shark-infested reefs, provide enough thrills to satisfj”- the most adventurous.

The Amazon angel fish, so conspicuous a feature of the Aquarium’s Tropical Hall, have in times past provided a wealth of adventure for those collecting them. Though these fish are now sometimes bred in captivity, they were originally obtained by collectors who were obliged to nef them by lantern light, in waters swarming with electric eels and set amongst jungles rich in jaguars, giant Anaconda snakes, and fever-breeding mosquitoes. One method by which some of the most interesting exhibits reach the Aquarium is the least suspected, because the simplest. The minute eggs of various creatures are casually introduced with fresh consignments of sea water, and may develop. It was by this means that the Aquarium met with a sponge new to science, found •flourishing in the seclusion of the sand filters.