DISLIKE OF CAGES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22610, 29 June 1935, Page 14

DISLIKE OF CAGES

NEW IDEAS IN ZOO The great progress made at the London Zoo during the 30 years of Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell's secretaryship will undoubtedly be continued under Professor Julian Huxley, the new secretary, who has just taken over his duties (says the Daily Mail). Professor Huxley is rather reticent about his ideal zoo, but he has visited the zoos of Europe, and America, and observed 'where the London Zoo falls short of those abroad. He shares the widespread dislike of bars. Space at Whipsnade makes bars unnecessary, but at Regent's Park it is less easy to dispense with cages. Even there, however, some of the bars may disappear if and when finance makes possible the rebuilding of the older houses. Among the animals likely to benefit in the near future are the gibbon apes. Earlier in the year the zoo had a scheme to provide them with a large outdoor paddock surrounded by wires and fitted up more or less like a gymnasium. This plan fell through, but Professor Huxley is anxious to improve the housing of the gibbons, and they are to have a " gymnasium" after all. Observation of the habits and behaviour of animala is to be carried «out on a much wider scale, and when funds permit fellowships may be established to enable young scientists to make greater use of the zoo. Mr Huxley is also planning a zoo kinema, open perhaps only during the winter months, with Nature films to show visitors how animals in the wild compare with captive animals. An advantage would be that the films would be genuine, and the public would have opportunities of seeing animal films that they missed in the ordinary kinema. Some years ago Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell introduced a successful kinema and lecture series for school teachers, who passed on the information to their pupils when visiting the gardens. The series may be resumed for the benefit of a new generation of teachers.