BOSTOCK AND WOMBWELLS CIRCUS AND MENAGERIE.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 11867, 16 May 1906, Page 7

BOSTOCK AND WOMBWELLS CIRCUS AND MENAGERIE.

Bostock and Wombcll's Circus and Menagerie, which appears in Wanganui on Friday uext, has been spoken very highly of by the press of the various towns visited. The following is a very interesting description of the menagerie: — In the menagerie the proprietors have a unique zoological collection. A line specimen of the "king of Leasts" is caged with three magnificent lionesses. In an adjoiuin" cage are two lion cubs under the protection of their fiother. These young "kings" aro but two months old, and form an interesting sight. A stat:ly but cumbersome form is ttiat of Alice, a twenty-four-y^ar-old elephant. Alongside of her a great dromedary stands. In the opposite/corne;of the tent may bo seen Dot, a Shetland pony, a perfectly proportioned litHe nnimal standing twenty-five inches in height, and aged seven years. Here also is a curious specimen of horseflesh (Wild Nell) called the india-rubber hor.'e, because of her perfectly- smooth hide and its greyblack colour. Close by is the cage of Liltlrt Mnrv. a chimpanzee. TJii.i longhaired, intelligent member of the monkey family i 3 as tame as a child, and allowß her jnaster to take her into his nrrns and introduce her to visitors. She thereupon offers a thumbless right liam'l to be shaken. Amongst the less common species in the menagerie are a tapir, a, gnu, or South African wildebeest, a I'arbarv ph<>ep (more like a goat), an Axis deer from Ccy- • lon, South African wild dogs, and a senlion. There are baboons and monkeys in plenty, and many other quaint and interestiug members of the animal kingdom. The feather tribes aro also well icprrsentcd, the caged speeimer* including parroquets, while, wandering about the menagerie tent at their own sweet \\ ill are some excellent specimens of Kaffir cranes, Asiatic cranes, and adjutant storks (known as tho "scavengers of the "East".'") An instructivo and entertaining hour may easily bo spent in this admirable menagcrio. Tho #ason in Wanganui is of four nights' duration with a matjnee performance on Saturday.