3 YEARS WITHOUT A DRINK
Three years ago the Zoo's ostricheis swore off drink of any kind, and that pledge has been rigidly kept.
Their comprehensive teetotalism covers everything that is wet—hard drinks, soft drinks, "dry ginger," "H. 0." itself. The "Pussyfoot" who worked this wonderful reformation was Professor J. E. Ducrdcn, official ostrich expert to the South African Government.
When over in this country on a visit he inspected the Zoo's own ostriches. To his horror, he saw a small trough of water in their enclosure. "Water!" he exclaimed, "Water, why we never allow our ostriches to drink." An opinion from such a source could not be ignored. From that moment the London Zoo ceased to pamper the birds. They now quench their thirst on the following unpromising materials: —clover, lettuce, cabbage, chaff, maize, rib-bones, a few odd stones. ,
Out of this mixture they extract all the moisture that is needed by their parched and arid interiors. The stones are used in their muscular gizzards to form a powerful grinding mil] which reduces the hard maize to a digestible powder.
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Bibliographic details
Waikato Times, Volume 96, Issue 15358, 5 October 1923, Page 2
Word Count
1813 YEARS WITHOUT A DRINK Waikato Times, Volume 96, Issue 15358, 5 October 1923, Page 2
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