ZOOS, NEW AND OLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18565, 24 November 1923, Page 1 (Supplement)

ZOOS, NEW AND OLD.

TARONGA'S TOUNG RIVAL. BY -ELSIE K. MOUTOM. With Jumuna now safely installed in her comfortable bungalow, and the entrancing vision of free elephant rides every Saturday afternoon before the eyes oi young Auckland, the city's newlyestablished zoo will speedily become the popular rendezvous for holiday-makers that its founders hoped it might become. Seldom have the planners of a new zoo set about their work with such natuiat advantages at th*i * command as possess- d by Auckland's Zoo site, although Taronga Park, which is probably one of the most ideally situate i zoological gardens in the world, has an advantage which only Sydney's incomparable harbour shores . oiil i <fiVr Th- latter is -nf.gnificently laid out, .oacious in accommodation for every class of animal, and by th*s deft co-operation of man with Nature, every smallest point of natural advantage lias been seized upon and put to the best possible use. . , So long as zoos find a place in the list of a modern city's recreation places, t>iras will have to be caged and animals confined in restricted areas, but while the wild beasts of the jungle and the birds of the air are given as much freedom as those in the Sydney and Auckland zoos, objections to such places must be very ; much diminished. Never again will the ■ people of Auckland permit the cruel herd- ; ing of animals in miserably inadequate cages endured by the lions and bears in ■-the private establishment that formerly ! masqueraded under the name of Auck- | land's Zoo. It is to the credit of the city ! that this place has at last been done away | with, ana the animals removed to their I present spacious quarters. I Those who object to zoos on the general ground that any form of confinement of wild animals constitutes cruelty, would djp ! well to visit Auckland's zoological gardens. The lion and tiger pits are superior to I those of Taronga, Park, giving more space | for the animals to roam about- The oldetyle trench lias been dispensed with, and on* looks across the stout, iron railings to terraces where the tawny yellow bctu-w lie and sun themselves in ample contentment. - The bear pits are spacious, and truly palatial quarters are now being prepared for the reception of the polar bears, These quarters also give promise of excelling those of Taronga Park. Our own zoo has the inestimable boon of a fine running stream, the very first requisite, it would seem, for a place where animals and birds are to be kept in close confinement. Anyj one who has had the pleasure of watching I young Jumuna in her bath will underj stand something of the bliss that enters her elephant soul when she wallows and splashes in her splendid pool of clear water. Her lot is indeed a heavenly one by comparison with that of other elephant children of the jungle, whose only acquaintance with water is through the niggard medium of hose and tap! A Zoo in the Making. Auckland's zoo is still . in the making, but citizens may well be proud of the progress already made and of the pro- | mise of the "future. Those m charge oi the work have achieved most excellent results, but in the future interests oi the zoo it would certainly seem advisable that some member, or members, of the zoo committee should be given an ari J opportunity of visiting the Sydney Zoological Gardens, which, it is understood, □one of them have "done in recent years. There is no reason why Auckland s Zoo, in a few ears' time, should not rival that of Sydney in beauty and interest. On strong point in favour of the Auckland Zoo is that it is readily accessible; a double journey, by ferry and tram is the price Taronga has.had .to . pay... faff..... it« superb harbour frontage -* ' ; '" As one stands at the hill-top entrant* at Grey Lynn, and looks out to the Western ranges across;the gently rising green slopes and silver pools of the raidd»e distance, out to the blue .. strip of »*a beyond Point Chevalier, one realises that here, indeed, are the makings of a zoological garden area of unique beauty. "There is"ample room for extension, and it is surely desirable, in view of the great expansion that undoubtedly will take place within the next ten years, that those responsible for the work should have the benefit of up-to-date personal knowledge of what has already been accomplished in a zoo that is admittedly one of the finest, if not the finest in the southern hemisphere. Lions Behind Bars. 5 Zoos, like people and cities, may learn much one from the other. The Auckland Zoo is a remarkably sturdy youngster tor its ape, and although still in its firrt year has easilv outstripped its sister zoo m Wellington in that most important of all essentials, the housing of its larger animals. . The right of great hons and tigers pacing up and down behind the bars of their cages in the Wellington Zoo is "a sad one, while cruellest of ail is -the plight of the sleigh dogs from Canada. These poor creatures, bred in the great silent spaces of the frozen North accustomed to fighting their way through snow storms, roaming over unmeasured tract?, . now patter swiftly up and down caced dens with concrete floors. Thev pause now and then and look with -niserable, brooding eyes fat the people who crowd round the bars of their prison and then a most pitiful whining rends the air, hltinc the heart with resentment that such callous treatment should be meted out to these poor captives of the wild. Equally cruel is the imprisonment of three easles in a cage some ten or twelve feet high. They sit perched up <as high as th«*v can get, and gaze out - into the faces of the people with keen, bright eyes made to pierce wide miles of sun-bright space. The vultures in Auckland Zoo are caged in much the same way, and although one cannot work up a great deal of sympathy for; these outlaws of the feathered world, it would be far better not to have them than that they should be kept in low-built, inadequate cages. Among the Birds. Wellington Zoo is particularly strong on the feathered side and the gorgeous macaws, blue and scarlet, the slenderlesced cranes, the strutting peacocKS and absurd pelicans drowsing beneath their shadv trees, the splendid collection of lovelv tropic birds, is one of which the city msv well be proud. -The birds arE very well housed, the aviaries being shaded with great bushes of rangiora, teatree* and laurestinas. Most attractive oi all in that unique collection, is the big King penguin. There are very few children in Wellington who have not made the acquaintance of this unique bird, ■who sits on the path outside ms cage, rocking gently on his toes, with eves shut in,, drowsv contentment, until some small child comes along and is coaxed into stroking las sleek back. A very handsome fellow he is, with his creamy white waist cor*, hit, orange tie and smooth black coat, and when toddlers take him by the flapper and walk ■with him a pacej>r two. he steps out with all the grave dignity of a churchwarden. The hanpy family in the round house is another hishlv unpopular innovation. Here dwell together in amity a quaint nsstrtment of white birds and hearts, including cats. guinea-pigs, faittail pigeoni and bantams. In the grounds beyond are ail manner of strange and picturesque creatures. flying opossums. Himalayan goats, fallow deer, buffaloes, a wallaroo, wombat, Arabian camel, raccoon, lemur, ostriches, and emus, and an assortment of lizards and fishes in elderly-arranged little gla&f cases at the side of one of the many picturesque. walks. The Wellington Zoo authorities have done excellent work in beautifying the approach from the tram terminus, and the grounds, which have been set. out with rockeries and handsome rose-gardens. The Horticultural Society has taken in hand this part of the work*, and demonstrations in rose pruning are given, the cuttings being sold "for the benefit of the 200 garden fond.