Published by

Friends of the National Zoo

National Zoological Park

Washington, D.C. 20009

Phones:

Executive Director and membership:

232-4500 16

Educational and Editorial offices:

232-5500

Guided tours: 332-9322

Window Shop: 232-4555

FONZ Board of Directors 1971-1972

Peter C. Andrews, President

Theodore Babbitt, 1st Vice President

Emanuel Boasberg, Treasurer

Susan K. Semple, Secretary

Arthur W. Arundel

Montgomery S. Bradley Am,

John S. Brown ¢

Mary H. L. Clark

-Timothy V. A. Dillon

Donna K. Grosvenor

Joan L. Jewett

Robert Mason

Isabel J. McDonnell Ye.

Shirley J. McNair ‘

Lavelle Merritt ae

Ruth N, Nelson ae

John R. Porter, Jr. Ry

Nancy Porter il

Frank Ridgdill "

Gerald G. Wagner e

Rosa M. Walker i

Richardson White, Jr. a

Executive Director, FONZ

Warren J. Iliff

Editorial Staff

Editor Austin Hughes

Assistant Editor Katie Kazan

Design and Production by Tom Jones

Cover photograph and photograph on

page 4 by Donna Grosvenor; other

photographs by Mark Gordon. Draw-

ing on page 3 by Margaret Brown.

THE ZOOGOER is published bi-

monthly and copyrighted © by the

Friends of the National Zoo, c/o

National Zoological Park, Washing-

ton, D.C. 20009. Application pending

for second-class mailing permit at

Washington, D.C. Rate in the

United States $3 a year. Vol.1,No.1.

CONTENTS

Rare Twins at the Zoo Nursery

Katie Kazan

Zoo News—Mammals

Zoo News—Birds

Zoo News—Reptiles and Amphibians

Map

Pigeons and Doves

Austin Hughes

THE ZOOGOER is a new bi-monthly publication

of the Friends of the National Zoo and replaces

the quarterly publication, Spots and Stripes. With

THE ZOOGOER, the Friends hopes to provide

for its miberhio an up-to-date report on new

animals and exhibits at the National Zoological

Parkiand in-depth articles on the natural history

andibehavior of animals at the Zoo. All of the text

and photographs will be keyed to the centerfold

“map in hopes of making a trip to the Zoo a more

interesting, educational, and enjoyable adventure.

THE ZOOGOER will also be on sale at the Friends’

Window Shop and kiosk as a current guide to

points of interest at the Zoo.

Friends of the National —

is a non-profit organiza-

tion of individuals and

families who regularly

visit the National Zoo-

logical Park in Washing-

Pe)

~Membership in the

FRIENDS allows you

many benefits that will

make your zoo-going

more enjoyable and

educational. |

The membership of the

FRIENDS supports and

provides volunteer ser-

vices to the public and

the Zoo through such

activities as Tour Guid-

ing for public school

classes, free information

booths on the Zoo

grounds, maternity

watches for pregnant

Zoo animals and Finan-

cial support for wild-

life conservation and

scientific research

from the profits

of its Window Shop,

Kiosk, Balloon Booths

and Trackless Train op-

erations.

Your

in the Friends of the

National Zoo Gives you:

a year’s subscription to

the bi-monthly maga-

zine, ‘THE ZOOGOER’,

a news and animal fea-

ture guide to the Na-

tional Zoo with a cur-

rent centerfold map that

is keyed to all the text

material for orienting

your next ZOo-going

trip.

an invitation to the

Spring Annual Meeting

in the Eleohant House

and the Annual ZOO

NIGHT on the Zoo

grounds for picnicing,

free beverages, baby an-

imal exhibits, free

trackless train rides,

music, special attract-

ions and fun.

‘Membership

discounted tickets to

the annual Winter Lec-

ture Series.

free admission to the

annual Fall Film Series.

discounts at the Friend's

Window Shop and

Kiosk.

an opportunity to bea

volunteer Tour Guide |

leading students through

the Zoo; to be a preg-

watcher monitoring Zoo

animals that are about

to give birth; to assist

the Friends at their

Window Shop or in

their office with mail-

ings, typing, etc.

Rare Twins

the

Zoo Nursery

by Katie Kazan

The National Zoological Park began the new

year with a new problem: how to care for

infant twin orangutans whose mother was

unable to nurse them. On December 27,

1971, the female twins were born to Jennie

and Archie, the Zoo’s long term resident

orangs, and for 96 hours hope was main-

tained that Jennie would lactate; in all other

respects she was a model mother, playing

with her babies, kissing their faces and

running her lips over their bodies. Finally it

was felt that further delay in feeding would

risk the health of the infants and on Decem-

ber 31st they were taken from her and

brought to the nursery in the Zoo’s Hospi-

tal and Scientific Research Building.

Now over three months old, the twins are

thriving under an around-the-clock foster

parent program. Named Malati and Mawar

(the Indonesian words for Jasmine and Rose,

respectively), they are the third known

orang twins to be born in captivity, the

others having been born in Munich,

Germany, and Seattle, Washington. Since

Artist Margaret Brown’s impression of Jennie, the

mother of the Zoo’s orangutans twins. Jennie is

with the other great apes in the Small Mammal

Building (number 15 On map).

Eee

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—

oe —~ eae

7 i

‘ peas

aoe

orangs, like all apes, have a prolonged in-

fancy, they will require nearly constant at-

tention for many months and will not make

their first appearance before the general

public until the Friends of the National

Zoo’s Zoo Night on June 9, 1972.

With their first feeding, which took place

within one-half hour of separation from

Jennie, detailed notes were begun concerning

the care and behavior of the twins. As orangs

hand-raised at this zoo in the past have proven

to be allergic to dairy products, the babies

were introduced to a soy-based baby formula,

Prosobee. As a substitute for the nests of

branches and leaves that their mother would

share with them in the wild, a human baby’s

crib was purchased. A 24-hour feeding sched-

ule was devised to attend to the babies’ needs

on a regular basis.

An unfortunate hindrance to the tasks of the

foster parents is that very little is known

about the behavior of this species in the wild;

one of the seemingly mandatory remarks in

any written account of orangs’ natural

behavior is that the adults are shy creatures

and prefer solitude. On top of this, their

numbers in their native Borneo and northwest-

ern Sumatra are exceedingly small; and,

though studies have begun in the last few

years, there is as yet virtually no information

available pertaining to natural maternal care,

compared to the amount available on more

sociable primates. It is not known, for

example, whether orangs in the wild eat meat,

as chimpanzees occasionally do, and if they

do, at what age they begin. At the nursery the

twins are already being served Gerber’s

Strained Beef and Vegetables. In cases such

as this, keepers must proceed cautiously, being

sensitive to the first hints of trouble arising

from change of diet, schedule, or climate.

Thus nursery care for the orangs is a combi-

nation of two parts premise and one part

intuition. The temperature in the dense forests

of Borneo and Sumatra varies according to the

season and time of day, but at the nursery the

infants are subject to a fairly steady 74 de-

Feeding time at the nursery. By now the twins have

graduated to applesauce and baby cereal.

grees. In the wild, orang babies would have

constant contact with their mother during the

first year of their lives, depending upon their

extraordinarily strong grip to cling to the

mother as she climbs and travels. As in all

primates but man, the big toe is opposable;

and the twins’ ability to cling is nearly as

strong with the feet as with the hands. In the

nursery, where practicality must dominate,

the twins are handled only during feeding

times and must be content with soft blankets

to cling to during sleeping hours.

Sleeping hours are another unknown in the

wild, but the Zoo’s twins sleep about 18 out

of 24 hours and are not awakened by loud

and sudden noises. There is little information

available as to the cleaning care mother

orangs give to their young in natural surround-

ings; at the nursery, where necessity demands

that the twins wear diapers, their bottoms

are washed many times each day and

their hands, faces, and bodies less frequently.

Susceptibility to disease is also unknown; and

the Zoo in a rather-be-safe-than-sorry policy,

strictly limits the number of visitors to those

on official business, and they are asked to wear

surgical masks.

Those who are permitted to visit the nursery

are inevitably struck by the similarities of the

twins to human babies. The similarities begin

even before bith, as the gestation period of

orangs is nine months. They show greater

muscular development at birth, but otherwise

they are quite as helpless and dependent as

human babies. Physically, the body is thinner;

the limbs are lengthened, especially the arms,

and the hands and feet are remarkably

lengthened. The babies do not cry like human

babies, but whimper or chirp when hungry and

are capable of a loud scream when frightened.

Their eyes begin to focus well at about two

months.

Those who are worried that the twins will

have outgrown their baby-ness by the time

they are displayed in June need not fear.

Though they should have upper and lower teeth

by that time, they will most likely weigh

under ten pounds and will be at a playful

crawling stage—not yet mischievous, no

longer helpless.

A SONEVWS

Mammals

Giant Pandas at the National Zoo

As this magazine goes to press, we have re-

ceived word that the National Zoological

Park is to provide a home for the two giant

pandas presented to the people of the

United States by the People’s Republic of

China. The pandas are scheduled to arrive in

April and will be housed in quarters pre-

viously used for hoofed stock (number 7:0

on map).

Although they are among the most famous

and best loved of all animals, giant pandas

(Ailuropoda melanoleuca) occupy a relatively

small area of impenetrable bamboo forest in

the southwest area of China near the Tibetan

border, and their habits in the wild are not

well known. They were not discovered by

Western science until 1869, and no captive

panda appeared outside China until 1936,

when an infant specimen arrived in New

York. This panda was eventually acquired by

Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo, where two more

giant pandas have been exhibited since then;

the last of these set a captive longevity record

of almost 14 years, dying in 1953. There

have been six other giant pandas in this coun-

try previous to the National Zoo’s pair; two

at the St. Louis Zoo and four at the Bronx

Zoo. They have never bred in captivity in the

West, but the Chinese have reported several

births during the past decade.

Originally the giant panda was classified as a

- member of the bear family and was called a

‘panda bear’”’ or ‘‘parti-colored bear.’ Now

it is usually included among the procyonids—

the family that includes racoons, coatimundis,

and lesser pandas. Of these the racoon-sized

lesser panda (A//urus fulgens) is probably the

giant panda’s closest living relative; a pair of

these striking russet-colored animals are on

display at the Zoo (number 16 on map).

Giant pandas certainly do resemble bears in

several ways. Like bears they are very large,

reaching a height of over a yard at the shoul-

der when standing on all four feet anda

weight of over 300 pounds; and they have

stumpy bearlike tails.

Less apparent details of their anatomy have

convinced zoologists that they should be

grouped with the procyonids. In addition,

some behavioral differences between pandas

and bears are known; for instance, pandas do

not hibernate. Like other procyonids, but

unlike bears, they have large scent glands

under the tail, which probably help the ordin-

arily solitary adults find one another in breed-

ing season. The zoo visitor will notice such

racoon-like features as the giant panda’s fur

markings, particularly the black eye-rings, and

above all the irrepressible playfulness that

seems to characterize this family.

The giant panda’s diet in the wild consists

mainly of bamboo shoots. Each forepaw has

a protruding fleshy pad specially adapted for

holding bamboo shoots; the claws can be op-

posed to this pad, so that it functions almost

like a thumb. This so-called ‘‘sixth finger’’ is

actually an elongated wrist bone. The panda

occasionally adds other vegetable matter to its

basic bamboo diet and perhaps sometimes

eats meat in the wild. In captivity it has

proved a most adaptable eater.

Golden Marmosets Born

One of the Zoo’s smallest mammals made

some of the biggest news, when the golden

marmosets (Leontideus rosalia) in cage 20 at

the Small Mammal Building (number 75 on

map) gave birth to twins on January 15th. This

species is extremely endangered in its native

habitat in Brazil, with an estimated total pop-

ulation of 500; and every birth in captivity is

a major event. The total number in zoos in the

United States is only 70, and ten of these are

now located at the National Zoological Park.

A further factor in making the recent birth so

important is that the mother was born here

several years ago. Almost all captive births of

golden marmosets have occurred from matings

between wild-caught animals; but if breeding

at Zoos is going to help save this species from

extinction while efforts are being made to

establish a protected reserve in Brazil, zoo-bred

animals must produce offspring. Six of the

Zo00’s golden marmosets were born here, and

it is hoped that the Zoo will soon be able to

produce offspring from pairs of captive-born

animals. If this is accomplished, it will be a

zoo first.

The family group in cage 20 is interesting to

watch, for it exhibits the unusual way marmo-

set parents care for their young. The infants—

usually two in number like these—spend

their first month clinging tightly to the backs

of their parents. After the first week, most of

the responsibility for carrying the young falls

to the father, who transfers them to the mother

for nursing. This is an exceptional arrangement

for primates, since the young of most species

cling only to the mother.

While you are at the Small Mammal Building,

be sure to look for the other golden marmosets.

They are not only beautiful animals but also

very active during visiting hours and interest-

ing to watch. They can often be seen grooming

One another in typical primate fashion. At

nine in the morning they are fed a specially

formulated canned food containing vitamin

D-3; and at four in the afternoon you can see

them eating the fruits, green vegetables, meal

worms, crickets, and young mice that make up

the rest of their diet. Marmosets are omnivorous

in the wild; they prefer insects or other inverte-

brates, but also eat some small vertebrates,

fruit, and other vegetable matter. Vitamin

D-3 is a necessary addition to the diet of

captive golden marmosets that do not have

access to sunlight, which is important to the

growth of this diurnal species. Part of their

vitamin D requirement is also made up by

periodic brief exposures to an ultra-violet lamp.

Pygmy Hippo Population Increases

Psi, the latest in the Zoo’s long line of pygmy hip

pos, with his mother, Alpha (number 77 on map).

The birth of apygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis

liberiensis) at the Elephant House (number 77

on map) the day after Christmas increased the

current NZP population to eight. Six of these

were born here, and many members of this rare

species born at the National Zoological Park

are now in residence at other zoos. Over the

years the National Zoo has had great success

with pygmy hippos; since 1925 more than 50

have been born here. The most recent is a male

andhas been named Psi, continuing the tradi-

tion of using Greek letters to name the pygmy

hippos, which was presumably arrived at

because the more conventional names were

running out.

The female Matilda is the oldest pygmy hippo

at the Zoo; she was captured in the wild in

1940, already fully adult and weighing 400

pounds (six hundred pounds is about the maxi-

mum for this species). Millie, the next oldest,

is one of Matilda’s many offspring and was born

in 1947. The current herd bull, Totota, was

captured as an adult in Liberia in 1960; he has

sired more than 25 young, including both Psi

and his mother, Alpha.

The young of the larger hippopotamus species

(Hippopotamus amphibius) are born under

water, can swim at birth, and continue to

nurse under water. Very little is known of the

pygmy hippo’s behavior in the natural state;

but it is believed to be less aquatic than the

larger species, and the many captive births at

the National Zoo provide evidence to support

this theory. The young here are invariably born

out of water; even when the mother has been

given access to a water tank at the time of

birth, she has always chosen to give birth-in her

cage instead. Sometimes the calf does nurse

under water. When it is very young, the swim-

ming tank is only partially filled. Then the

mother sometimes lies on her side in the shallow

water while the calf is nursing, so that she is

half under water and the calf is entirely under

water.

Psi weighed nine-and-a-half pounds at birth; by

now he weighs over 50 pounds. He will nurse

until he is four or five months old, but he be-

gan eating some solid food after one week and

can now be seen eating alongside his mother at

their 3:00 p.m. feeding time.

Keepers at the Elephant House swear that the

pygmy hippos are the most intelligent animals

in the building. They learn more quickly and

thoroughly than any of the others such rou-

tines as feeding times, the times when the

keepers regularly shift them from cage to cage

to clean or to drain their tanks, and the times

when they are expected to go outdoors and

to return for the night in warm weather. Some

of them—Totota, for example—even learn their

names and will come when called.

In the wild their intelligence is well attested;

along with their keen senses of sight and smell,

it has served to protect them from human

curiosity. One early trapper tried to capture

live specimens by digging concealed pits in the

forest trails each individual hippo uses night

after night in its searches for food; these paths,

at times so deeply worn that they look more

like tunnels, are often the only traces of the

pygmy hippopotamus European expeditions

ever encounter. In every case, however, this

particular trapper found tracks showing that

the hippo had walked right up to the edge of

the pit, noticed by smell or sight that some-

thing was different about its familiar route,

and decided to detour around the trap.

Eld’s Deer Fawn

At the end of January a brown-and-white

spotted Eld’s deer fawn (Cervus e/di) was born,

increasing the Zoo’s herd to five (number 3g

on map). Besides the mother, whose third fawn

and first female offspring this was, there are

two adult males and one other adult female

(the two previous young have been sent to an-

other zoo). The mother can be distinguished

from the other hind by the fact that she has

small knobs on her forehead like the beginning

of antlers, although females of this Southeast

Asian deer are not supposed to grow antlers.

The other hind, who has been here only since

last July, is pregnant now andis expected to

deliver her first fawn in June.

The annual reproductive cycle of deer is one

of nature’s great dramas. The stag’s antlers

are grown and dropped each year, and the

period when they have reached full growth

and the velvet—the soft, blood-rich skin that

covers the growing bone of the antler—has dried

up and been shed, coincides in most species

with the principal mating season.

In the Eld’s deer, however, the story is not

quite so simple. The Eld’s deer stags here

reached full antler growth and shed the velvet

This second breeding period is unusual for deer,

but not unprecedented. More unusual is the

evidence that Eld’s deer stags may breed

throughout the year. After all, the newer of

the Zoo’s two females is pregnant now, presum-

ably from a mating in October. And records

from other zoos show births in virtually every

month from September to March, implying

mating activity at least from January through

July.

The father of the recently born fawn can be

distinguished by his larger size and by the

double fork on the rear branch of his antlers.

He sired the two previous young and Is also

presumed to be responsible for the current

pregnancy. He is the dominant male in mating,

and the other stag does not question his

position. But, interestingly, the smaller stag

seems to be dominant in terms of territory.

In dividing up the territory of their paddock,

the smaller stag will challenge the larger one

and seems to win all such disputes.

Monkey Babies

Two-week-old mona monkey infant, clinging to its

in December this year; at this writing they have other at the Monkey House (number 27 on map).

not yet dropped their impressive racks of

antlers. Since the gestation period is about

eight months and the young born here so far

Two new-born infants can be seen clinging to

their mothers at the Monkey House (number

have all arrived in January, this species seems to 27 on map). The Celebes crested macaque

have a second period of concentrated breeding (Cynopithecus niger) was the first born, on

in the spring.

February 9th, and she is the second offspring

of the single pair belonging to the National

Zoo. Closely guarded by her protective

parents, the baby is difficult to see at first, but

close attention will find her clutching securely

_ to her mother’s chest, or, when her grip relaxes,

hugged by her mother. The species makes its

home on the island of Celebes in Indonesia,

and though it spends much of its time in

trees, it often feeds in the grasslands near

forested areas. The adults are very dark brown

or black and are distinguished by an extremely

prominent ridge over the eyes and a crest of

fur at the crown of the head which can be

erected when the animal is excited. The infant

lacks the characteristic crest and the black or

near-black pigment on the naked face and ears.

A younger baby in the Monkey House and the

newest addition to the Zoo’s troop of mona

monkeys (Cercopithecus mona) is of as yet

unknown sex, though it will be two months

old on April 18th.

The reason for this mystery is that the baby

clings so unrelentingly to its mother that a

peek at its backside has been impossible. As

the monas are strictly arboreal, this clinging

instinct is necessary to keep the young with

its mother during her frequent leaps from

_branch to branch. The baby and mother share

their enclosure with father mona and a male

juvenile of about one year’s age. The family

seems to live together harmoniously and with

no apparent generation gap, as the juvenile,

swinging about the enclosure, occasionally lands

on his father’s back and rebounds to the bars

of the cage. Communal living is the norm for

the monas, as in their natural environment in

the forests of coastal western Africa they

travel in large, noisy groups. Their diet consists

almost exclusively of fruits.

Long and thin like so many arboreal monkeys,

the mona is distinguished by white fur on its

undersides continuing up the neck and form-

ing muttonchops at the jowls. The backs are

rich reddish brown and the limbs nearly black.

The mother can be heard chirping gently and

almost questioningly to her baby. The tail is

carried in an elegant arch over the back.

Preparations for a Rhino Shipment

Bill and Lucy, the Zoo’s white rhinos (number

8c on map), are scheduled to be shipped this

spring to the San Diego Wild Animal Park (a

new 1800 acre park of the San Diego Zoologi-

Bill and Lucy, the Zoo’s white rhinos (number 8c on

map), with one of the transport crates that will take

them to their new home at the San Diego Wild Ani-

mal Park.

cal Society) in San Pasqual Valley, California,

in hopes that they will breed there. They have

not bred since coming to the National Zoo in

1956, when both were about two years old,

although another species of rhino, the African

black rhinoceros, has bred well at the Zoo.

Now it is hoped that the greater physical free-

dom allowed by a 90 acre enclosure at the

Wild Animal Park will stimulate Bill and Lucy

to produce offspring at last.

The southern race of the white rhino is ade-

quately protected and steadily increasing, so

much so that their numbers are beginning to

outstrip the food resources of the few white

rhino sanctuaries. The Wild Animal Park and

other zoos hope to breed excess animals taken

from the wild, in hopes that their descendants

can be returned to Africa when further sanct-

uaries are established. Bill and Lucy belong to

the northern race, which is not yet adequately

protected; in their case captive breeding is an

even higher priority.

Pictured with Bill and Lucy is one of the two

transport crates to be used when they are shipped.

The rhinos are fed in the crates and will be

used to them when the time comes for them

to be moved. It is hoped that this process

of familiarization will make their trip less

traumatic.

Birds

Rare White Eared Pheasants on

Display

A new pair of white eared pheasants (Crossop-

tilon crossoptilon) is on exhibit in an outdoor

enclosure (number 6m on map) behind the

Bird House. This unusual species is native to a

A 3 OMAP

. Connecticut Avenue pedestrian entrance

. Connecticut Avenue vehicular entrance

esd

SCOMNAOAWN =

Deer and antelope areas (a-n)

Great Flight Cage

Bird House

Pheasant and crane line (a-t)

. Raptor cages (a-d)

. Delicate-hoofed stock building (a-c)

. Hardy-hoofed stock complex (a-i)

. Panda House (a-c)

. Elephant House

. Water birds (a-e)

. Hawks and owls (a-c)

. Goat mountain areas (a-e)

. Small Mammal Building

. Lesser Pandas

. Prarie dogs

. Bears and monkeys (a-m)

. Reptile House

. Tortoise yard

. Monkey House

. Hardy Animals (a-l)

. Lion House

. Komodo Dragon

. Bears (a-j)

. Water animals (a-e)

. Police Station—Restrooms—First Aid

. Restaurant i

. Picnic Area

. Sea Lion pool am Telephone

. Wolves, foxes, and wild dogs (a-l) pS

. Lesser Cats ? Restrooms

. Waterfowl ponds (a-d) AN: Barkin

. Window Shop

. Rock Creek Parkway entrance

. Friends of the National Zoo Offices

. FONZ Education, Editorial, and Tour

Guide Offices

‘

A SOMAP

. Connecticut Avenue pedestrian entrance

Connecticut Avenue vehicular entrance

Deer and antelope areas (a-h)

. Great Flight Cage

Bird House

. Pheasant and crane line (a-t)

. Raptor cages (a-d)

. Delicate-hoofed stock building (a-c)

. Hardy-hoofed stock complex (a-i)

. Panda House (a-c)

SOMNOOAWN =

ce)

. Elephant House

. Water birds (a-e)

. Hawks and owls (a-c)

. Goat mountain areas (a-e)

. Small Mammal Building

. Lesser Pandas

. Prarie dogs

. Bears and monkeys (a-m)

. Reptile House

. Tortoise yard

. Monkey House

. Hardy Animals (a-l)

. Lion House

. Komodo Dragon

. Bears (a-j)

. Water animals (a-e)

. Sea Lion pool

. Wolves, foxes, and wild dogs (a-l) d, 9

. Lesser Cats

. Waterfowl ponds (a-d)

. Police Station—Restrooms—F irst Aid

alge

. Restaurant Le

. Picnic Area

. Window Shop

. Rock Creek Parkway entrance

. Friends of the National Zoo Offices

. FONZ Education, Editorial, and Tour

Guide Offices

Telephone

Restrooms

Parking

(number

One of the two new white eared pheasants

6m on map).

restricted area in Tibet and China and is

seldom exhibited in the West. The birds were

acquired from the Jersey Wildlife Trust (the

zoo of naturalist-author Gerald Durrell) in

Jersey, England, where the species has bred

well in captivity. Since the status of the white

eared pheasant in the wild is not known and may

be very precarious, Zoo officials are anxious

to breed them here, in order to further increase

the small world captive population.

These pheasants are snowy white over most of

their bodies, except for the brownish tail

feathers and wing tips. The top of the head is

covered with velvety black feathers, and there

are red patches on the side of the face. They

are known as “white eared pheasants,”’ it should

be noted, not ‘‘white-eared pheasants.’ The

‘ears’’—actually long feather tufts growing

backwards on each side of the head—are white

in all members of the genus of eared pheasants,

including the blue eared pheasant and the brown

eared pheasant; in each case the color name

denotes the principal shade of body plumage.

All of the eared pheasants inhabit high

mountain slopes in Tibet and China. The

loose, hairlike texture of the white eared

pheasant’s long body plumage is a readily ob-

served adaptation for the cold climate in which

it lives.

The golden pheasant, Swinhoe’s pheasant, and

Hume’s bar-tailed pheasant in surrounding en-

closures provide examples of the striking contrast

between spectacular males and dull-colored fe-

males that is typical of pheasants (numbers 60,

6n, and 6k on map, respectively). The eared

pheasants are unique in that the sexes are virt-

ually indistinguishable. In the white eared

pheasant the only differences are that the male

is slightly larger, has a short heel spur on the

back of each leg, and has somewhat larger and

rounder red patches on the side of his head.

These red areas are covered with small fleshy

projections that the male erects during his

courtship display. |

When the male of a bird species courts and

breeds with as many females as possible each

year, there is often a marked contrast between

the sexes. This is particularly true among

the Phasianidae—the family that includes

pheasants, peafowl, and domestic chickens.

Unlike most members of the group, the eared

pheasants are monogamous. Their flocks sep-

arate in pairs in the breeding season, and report-

edly mates are chosen with a good deal less

quarrelling among males than ordinarily takes

place in most of the Phasianidae. They lay

their four to seven eggs on the ground in simple

nests loosely scraped together from grass and

other debris. The young are said to be brown

on the back and yellow on the underside, head,

and neck.

The eared pheasants are also unusual in their

feeding habits. They dig for roots, tubers,

worms, and grubs with their relatively long

and hooked bills. By contrast, most other

members of the family scratch for food with

their feet like domestic fowl.

An Unusual Parrot Acquisition

Rare Patagonian burrowing parrots at the Bird House

(number 6 on map).

The Patagonian burrowing parrots (Cyanoliseus

patagonus) are also new arrivals, located in a cage

behind the Bird House (number 6g on map).

These dark olive-colored birds with yellow under-

sides and red breasts not only lack the bright

plumage characteristic of tropical parrots, but

are even more remarkable for their nesting

habits. Most parrots nest in cavities in trees;

in captivity nest boxes provide an acceptable

substitute, as they did for the turquoise

parrot young recently reared in cage 7. The

Patagonian parrots, on the other hand, nest

in holes in sandstone cliffs, sometimes four to

five feet deep. At the Bird House a special

rock pile has been assembled, with a deep

crevice in between the rocks for nesting.

These parrots nest in large colonies, and the

burrows are often interconnected under-

ground. They live in the burrows throughout

the year. Large groups go out to feed together

and return together. Just before returning

to the cliff site, the group is reported to separ-

ate into smaller “squadrons” of up to a dozen;

all of the members of each squadron beat their

wings rapidly to pick up speed, then glide—

almost “‘in formation’’—straight into their

individual burrow entrances. The habit of nest-

ing in colonies has not been advantageous in

protecting the burrowing parrots from man.

Young birds have been captured so often

from their nests to be raised as pets that the

species seems to be gradually dying out.

The red-winged tinamous (Rhynchotus

rufescens) sharing this enclosure are also new.

Like the Andean tinamous (Nothoprocta

pentlandii) in cage 12, these birds look like

partridges or quail but are thought to be more

closely related to the rheas (number 6h on

map). The red-winged tinamou occurs in the

parts of South America to which the burrow-

ing parrots are native.

Burrowing Owls

Burrowing owls in cage 26 at the Bird House (num-

ber 5 on map); the slightly different markings on

these birds probably represent racial differences be-

tween populations inhabiting different parts of the

burrowing owl’s range.

The Bird House (number 5 on map) has added

a second member of another burrow-nesting

species, the burrowing owl (Speotyto cuni-

cularia),and keepers have built several under-

ground nesting sites for them in cage 26. It is

not yet known, however, whether the two are

actually a male and a female. Since there are

no plumage differences or size differences be-

tween the sexes, behavior is the only way to

distinguish the sexes of burrowing owls. In

this unusual owl, the sexes are alike; the

slightly different markings of the two birds at

the Zoo probably represent racial differences

between different populations from different

parts of the burrowing owl’s extensive range.

It is hoped that mating behavior—and eventu-

ally, eggs and young—will settle for the ques-

tion of these birds’s sexes.

The temperature and humidity in cage 26 are

controlled to imitate the dry climate of the

treeless prairies of the American West. In that

region, burrowing owls are famous for their

habit of taking up residence in unused burrows

on the outskirts of prairie dog towns. Legend

has exaggerated the amicable relations between

the owls and the prairie dogs; actually, the

owls probably sometimes feed on prairie dog

young and, in turn, may be robbed of an

occasional egg by the rodents. Burrowing

owls also live in Florida, the West Indies, and

South and Central America; these populations,

like the isolated one in Florida, must often

dig their own burrows. They are said to be

able to do so quite well. The ends of the

burrows, where the six to eleven eggs are

laid, are lined with grasses or horse and cow

manure to a thickness of one to two inches.

Reptiles and

Amphibians

New Matamata Turtle Exhibit

New exhibits recreating natural envi-

ronments and illustrating aspects of the

animals’ lives in the wild continue to be

built at the Reptile House (number 79 on

map). One of the newer ones is the mata-

‘mata turtle (Che/ys fimbriata) exhibit in cage’

D8. These large and unusual turtles have

been moved to a new leaf-and-branch-

filled tank that is designed to empha-

size the very effective use they make of

camouflage in the river bottoms of Co-

lombia and the Guianas. Their new sur-

roundings are not only informative to

the visitor, but also seem to be having a

good effect on the turtles, since mating

behavior has been observed in the new while waiting for the fish on which it

tank. feeds to swim by. The tentacles on its

snout are probably

used as tactile organs to find fish in

murky swamp waters.

The matamata turtle’s long neck and

broad, flat head are covered with num-

erous fleshy projections that make the

turtle look like nothing so much as a While the snake is submerged, its nasal

pile of leaves. The protuberances not passages can be tightly closed. The ten-

only disguise the matamata from the tacled snake is not venomous and is re-

small fish on which it feeds, but evident- puted to be quite docile. It bears its young

ly attract them, appearing to the fish to live, in the water, up to a dozen at a time.

be edible refuse. This turtle’s extremely

wide mouth lacks the sharp, horny Giant Snakes

edges characteristic of the mouths of 2a

other fish-eating water turtles like the

snapper or the soft-shelled turtle. When

any suitable prey approaches its vicinity,

the matamata simply opens its mouth

and distends its throat greatly. Water

rushes into the turtle’s mouth, bringing

with it the unsuspecting fish.

Tentacled Snake

The common anaconda, or water boa, one of the

world’s two largest species of snake (number 19 on

map).

Which living species of giant snake merits

the title of the largest is a common subject

of contention among herptologists. The

reasons for the controversy are two-fold.

The tentacled snake (Erpeton tentaculatum) First, through a fear of large snakes that is

new on exhibit in the F section in the Reptile either innate in man or has been firmly es-

House is an unusual totally aquatic fresh water tablished by long years of cultural condition-

The unusual growths on the tentacled snake’s head

are tactile organs (number 19 on map).

snake. Its tail is a good deal thinner ing, the eyes of even the most would-be-

than the rest of its body and is prehen- accurate witness tend to measure larger than

sile; in the mangrove swamps of South- his tape measure would. Second, the largest

east Asia where it lives, the tentacled snakes are often killed and not measured

snake evidently anchors itself to an accurately before being skinned, and when

underwater branch by means of its tail the skin is removed it is inevitably stretched.

An anaconda skin of 40 feet is not unusual,

though a living specimen of that length

would break existing records. Thus, both of

the two front runners for the title of the

largest living snake, the reticulated python

(Python reticulatus) of Asia, and the com-

mon anaconda (Eunectes murinus) of tropi-

cal South America have been called the

largest; a final decision depends only upon

which source one chooses to consult.

It is generally agreed, however, that the ana-

conda, or water boa, is the heaviest, if not

the longest, of the giants. In February of this

year, the Reptile Division received a ten-and-

a-half foot specimen of this species, which

can be seen sharing enclosure D3 with its

rival for the title, a reticulated python. At

the Zoo, the reticulated python is the larger,

measuring about 18 feet and with a consider-

ably greater girth than its South American

cousin, and there are records of these

pythons growing up to 33 feet. These two

Species are examples of the two subfamilies

of the family Bo/dae, or giant constrictors.

The anaconda is a member of the same sub-

family (Boinae) as the boas; almost all of the

Boinae are snakes of the New World tropics

that bear their young live. The reticu-

lated pythons are members of the subfamily

Pythoninae, which are Old World snakes and

egg layers. Though often found near water,

they are not aquatic.

The anaconda is dark green to yellow with

black or blackish spots and is thus well

camouflaged in the swamps which are its

prefered habitat. Generally considered a

nocturnal reptile, the anaconda often leaves

the water during daylight to sun itself in

waterside trees. It is primarily solitary, but

there are reports of congregations of the

giants; as many as eleven have been seen

clustered together on ariver bank. The

reasons for these congregations is unknown.

Like all the giants, the anaconda can fast for an

extended period. Much of its food is itself

aquatic, including fish, turtles, and water-

fowl, but its diet also includes deer, peccaries,

large rodents, sheep and dogs. Huge meals of

single large prey are not uncommon and re-

mains of a 100 pound peccary and, in another

instance, of a six foot caiman have been found

in stomachs of anacondas; in each of these

cases the predator measured over 25 feet.

| Zoo

iona

ges)

A Members’ Even

Friends of the Nat

June 9, 1972

Pigeons

and Doves

by Austin Hughes

Pigeons and doves, as visitors to the Bird House

will discover, come in a great variety of sizes

and colors. The common crowned pigeon

(Goura cristata, located in cage number 22

to the right of the main door of the building)

is one of the three largest species in this group

of birds. The diamond dove (Geopelia

cuneata) and the cape dove (Oena capensis),

around the corner in cage 20, are two of the

smallest. Except for their plumper bodies and

much longer tails, they are no bigger than

sparrows. The species in the indoor flight room

illustrate the briliiant plumages characteristic

of the many tropical and subtropical forms.

The bleeding-heart pigeon (Gallicolumba

luzonica). with the bright red patch on its

white breast, is unmistakable. The emerald

dove (Chalcophaps indica) is about the same

size as the familiar pigeons of our cities;

but its throat and underside are brown, its

wings are deep green, its head is white, and

its bill is bright orange.

The yellow-breasted fruit dove (Pti/inopus

occipitalis) and the Nicobar pigeon (Ca/oenas

nicobarica), also located in the indoor flight

room, are larger species. The former is spec-

tacularly colored, with a dark magenta and

white head, a green back and wings, anda

white throat and neck. The name ‘‘yellow-

breasted’”’ is somewhat misleading, since the

breast feathers may appear crimson, as they do

in the birds at the Zoo. The Nicobar pigeon

is a glossy greenish-and-coppery black, with a

charcoal grey head, a mantle of longer feathers

around the neck, and a white tail.

There is no strict ornithological difference

between pigeons and doves; all are members

of the family Co/umbidae, a remarkably success-

ful group that inhabits every continent but

Antarctica and many ocean islands. More than

half of the nearly 300 species inhabit

Australia, Indonesia, and the southeast portion

of Asia from India to the Philippines; almost

every species on exhibit at the Bird House

is native to one of those areas. The English

word “‘dove,’’ of Anglo-Saxon origin, is conven-

tionally applied to the smaller, more graceful

species; ‘‘pigeon’’ is derived from the Norman

French and is most often used of the larger,

heavier forms. But the terms overlap, and for

convenience the Co/umbidae are frequently

referred to as ‘‘the pigeon family” in ornitholo-

gical literature. And, as varied as the members

of the family are in some respects, they are all

readily recognizable as pigeons.

The best known of the Co/umbidae is, of

course, the common pigeon of our cities.

These birds are descended from domesticated

breeds of the European stock dove or rock dove

(Columba livia). This species, first domesticated

by man about 5,000 years ago, was originally

raised as a source of food, and, later for its re-

markable homing abilities. Some of them re-

verted to the semi-wild state in which they are

now so familiar, and these birds are usually re-

ferred to as ‘‘feral pigeons”’ or ‘‘feral stock

doves’’. (‘‘Feral” is a term used of free-living

populations of previously domesticated animals.)

They exhibit not only the typical pigeon body

form but also the hardiness and adaptability

that characterize most of the family. More-

over, many behavioral patterns common to

all pigeons can be readily observed among the

feral pigeons of our parks and public places.

One of these is the peculiar head-bobbing pi-

geon gait. Close observation shows that the

pigeon is actually thrusting its head forward

just before each step and keeping the head

steady while the body in effect catches up to

it. This allows the pigeon an instant of steady

vision, unblurred by motion, before every step

it takes and thus can be of considerable value

for birds that spend a lot of time on the

ground, as do feral pigeons and many other

members of the family. Another familiar trait

belonging to all pigeons (which they share with

the other living family in their order, the sand-

grouse) is their unique method of drinking.

They are able to lower their bills below the

surface to suck up water. Unlike other birds,

they do not have to tilt their heads back so the

water can run down their throats to where it

can be swallowed.

Other, more complex behavior patterns that

appear throughout the family can also be

observed among feral pigeons. It is not unusual

in springtime, for instance, to see a male pigeon

following his chosen female along a sidewalk,

his throat expanded and his neck plumage

erected in a way that makes his ordinarily

rather drab-looking neck feathers iridescent.

Meanwhile he may make the repetitive

‘cooing’ call that is found in virtually every

member of the family. If the male is courting

the female for the first time and she is receptive,

she will stand still eventually; and, still

cooing softly, he will execute a series of

pronounced bows, each of which ends with

his head lowered so that the erected plumage

on the back of his neck is visible to the female.

Every pigeon species studied to date has a

courtship ritual similar to this ‘bowing dis-

play’’ of the common feral pigeon. The

species with more exotic plumage seem to

have more exotic courtship rites; and, in fact,

most of their brilliant colors—and such unusual

feather conformations as the crowned pigeon’s

‘“‘crown’’—appear to have evolved as ways of

enhancing the courtship display. Distinctive

plumage and distinctive ways of displaying It

to the female are advantageous not only as

means of announcing to the female that the

male is of the same species and in breeding

condition, but also as ways of stimulating

her to breed by bringing her seasonal repro-

ductive drive in close harmony with the

male’s corresponding urge.

Thus in the spotted dove (Streptopelia

phoenicoptera, on exhibit in the indoor flight

room), the male expands his throat and

breast, lowers his wings and ruffles out his

pale green body feathers, then repeatedly

bows his head and makes a unique whistling

sound as he walks up and down a branch

towards and away from the female. In the

bleeding-heart pigeon, the display culminates

with the male’s head thrown far back and his

breast expanded to an incredible size, display-

ing the red patch to fullest advantage.

Many birds have elaborate crests like that of

the crowned pigeon, and these head adorn-

ments are usually used in courtship display.

Thus scientists have been led to wonder which

came first—the crest or the display. The pigeon

family are one group in which the answer to

this question is not hard to find. Since the

crowned pigeon’s crest finds its primary use in

the bowing display, a behavior pattern shared

with all other pigeons, it seems obvious that

the bowing display came first in the evolu-

tionary sequence. The ancestors of the

crowned pigeon and those of other pigeons

must have inherited the rudiments of this court-

ship ritual from a common ancestral source;

subsequently—as the other pigeon species

did, each in its own way—the crowned pigeon

evolved its special plumage in order to make

its courtship more impressive and therfore

more effective. Thus, each bow culminates

with the male’s head almost directly upside

down, so that the crest faces the female; some-

times the neck may be slightly twisted, show-

ing the crest at least partly from the side. One

bright red eye, contrasting vividly with the

pale blue of the head and crest, is then also

visible.

The spinifex pigeon (Lophophaps plumifera,

on exhibit in cage 7) is a smaller species that

has also evolved a kind of crest for its court-

ship. The long feathers on the Nicobar

pigeon’s neck and shoulders—or “‘hackles’’ as

they are called by analogy with somewhat

similar feathers in domestic fowl—are another

adornment used in the bowing display. Unfort-

unately, no detailed account exists of exactly

how they are used.

If the female is receptive, the bowing display

may be followed by other behavior patterns

that seem to be fairly standard throughout the

family. One of these is “‘billing’’—which from

its familiarity in feral pigeons has become pro-

verbial. Billing usually follows a short period

big

in which the male pauses in his courtship to

preen his own wings, thus evidently reassuring

him by flying about a foot away. After that,

there is no aggression on either side, and the

the female of his non-aggressive intentions. Then pair are as affectionate as doves are tradition-

the male will present his bill to the female, and

she places her bill inside his and may be fed by

him. The male does not usually regurgitate

food as a pigeon would in feeding its young,

but both birds make regurgitating motions.

Like the courtship feeding of many other birds,

billing symbolically places the female in the

dependent position young have relative to

their parents and thus increases the male’s

dominance over her.

Bird courtship procedures involve many

elements that now seem entirely ritualized but

earlier in the evolution of the behavior pattern

must have been motivated by urgent, non-

ritual needs. Part of the process of account-

ing for the form these complex behavioral

patterns take is to look for the original moti-

vation of each component. This sort of

analysis has been attempted for some aspects

of pigeon courtship; the picture it presents

seems to indicate that, in the distant past, the

courtship of the Co/umbidae was not the

polite affair it usually is today. The bowing

ritual itself, it has been theorized, may have

originated in a crouching posture by which the

male readied himself to leap or fly at the fe-

. male and take her by force if need be. Its

stylized repetition, however, evolved to con-

vince the female that the male was not going

to engage in any so overt aggression, while

still reminding her that he very well could.

Along similar lines, the diamond dove has de-

veloped a unique courtship ‘‘dance”’ that

illustrates excellently how a threat of aggres-

sion can be tranfsormed by evolution into a

highly ritualized performance. After a

preliminary wing-lifting display and, usually,

some billing, the male mounts the female,

utters a single coo, then dismounts abruptly,

at once gives a loud cry, and strikes at the

female’s head with one of his wings. But the

female seems to have known what was coming,

and she ducks adroitly, just avoiding the blow.

The pair thereupon resume billing for a few

seconds. The male mounts the female once

again and once again dismounts, cries, and

strikes at the female, this time with the other

wing. Once again the female crouches in

time. On the third mounting copulation takes

place; immediately thereafter, the male rushes

at the female as if to attack her. She avoids

ally supposed to be.

Many aspects of pigeon courtship seem to indi-

cate the very opposite of aggression on the

part of the male. One of these—the

tendency of the male to pause at some point

in the proceedings and preen himself—has

already been mentioned. In some species,

as in the emerald dove, the male accompanies

the bowing display with a wing display, raising

his still-closed wings over his back and revealing

their undersides, which may be distinctively

marked. This ritual serves the same function

as other displays of plumage; but in its

original form this behavior was possibly the

same as the posture assumed by a bird about

to fly off and may have indicated a real impulse

to fly away on the part of the male. This sort

of ambivalence in the male’s motivations may

have helped decrease the female’s fear and

defensiveness, just as a certain amount of

hesitancy can do on the part of a human lover.

Most of the Co/umbidae are forest-dwellers,

nesting and roosting in trees. But there are

species, like the diamond dove, that inhabit

more open country; and a few species roost

and nest on cliffs. Even among forest-dwelling | -

species, a great many pigeons and doves do

most of their feeding on the ground. The Nico-

bar pigeon, the bleeding-heart pigeon, and the

crowned pigeon are all regularly ground-

feeders in the wild; but all of them return

to trees to roost and to build their nests.

Tree-nesting pigeons construct loose plat-

form nests of twigs and stiff grasses at a

height of thirty feet or lower. Four times in

the last year, the Nicobar pigeons in the indoor

flight room have built their shallow nests on

a dead branch hanging on the east wall of the

room. They add to the nest while incubating,

so that by the time the single egg hatches,

the nest is much sturdier and the young bird

is not visible. The emerald doves also have

recently revealed some fascinating nest-building —

behavior there. The female was observed

sitting on the beginnings of a nest spread

across the flat top branches of a pine sapling.

The male would fly over at intervals bringing

new nesting materials. Upon landing he would

stand on top of the female’s back and pass the

single twig or straw he had gathered into the

for the members

increased discounts at

the Window Shop and

Kiosk

free trackless train tick-

ets annually

special seating area at

the Zoo Restaurant

Friends reading room/

reference library at the

ZOO

tours of World's wild-

life areas and zoologi-

cal parks

special Saturday morn-

ing Zoo tours and

brunches

Zoo classes for members

and their children

from the membership

special zoo education

programs for nearby

school systems

recycling collection

points in the Zoo’s

parking lots

various conservation

projects on behalf of

the world’s dwindling

wildlife

Special education

programs for the blind

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This young Nicobar pigeon was hatched at the Bir

House. The juvenile lacks the white tail and long

mantle of shoulder feathers that are so noticeable in

the adult.

female’s bill. The female would add the new

piece to the nest, and about a minute after-

wards the male would be gone in search of

another.

Like the feral pigeons, many species are highly

gregarious. Some are colonial nesters; but

all species separate in monogamous pairs at

breeding season, and often each pair defends

a nesting territory. But even among territorial

nesters, there are often traditionally estab-

lished parts of each population’s feeding range

where the birds can gather to feed or drink

without conflict even in the breeding season.

The male chooses the nest site, usually before

he finds a mate. On selecting it, he gives a

distinctive call, advertising the fact to fe-

males and other males. In the yellow-legged

green pigeon, he does this in a crouched

position with the tail spread. After successful

courtship and copulation, the male leads the

female to his chosen nest site, and he or the

female may then repeat the distinctive call that

announces their occupation of the site. If

the male has not already chosen a nesting site,

it is at this time he does so. But there Is evi-

dence in at least one species, the wild stock

dove (Columba livia), that females will reject

a male’s courtship if he does not already have

a nest site.

One of the most dramatic aspects of pigeon

behavior is usually associated with the nesting

site. This is the display flight, in which a

male suddenly flies up above the trees or

cliffs—or, in the case of feral pigeons, the

buildings—and away from the nesting site,

announcing his presence and the fact that he

is in breeding condition to members of the

same species throughout the surrounding

area. In some species the flight is characterized

by alternating periods of leisurely gliding and

of rapid wingbeats and is punctuated by

several short sequences of loud wing claps.

This behavior can take place both before

and after the male has found a mate, usually

when another pigeon of the same species is

observed in flight in the area, especially if the

othr bird is also in display flight, when the male

has just returned to the nest site, or immedi-

ately after copulation. While this behavior

has been recorded for only a few common

European and North American species, experts

believe that it may occur throughout the family.

If it does occur in such species as the yellow-

breasted fruit dove, it must be truly impressive.

All of the Co/umbiaae \ay one or two eggs.

For the first three or four days of life the

young are fed by a method unique to this

family. When the eggs are ready to hatch, both

parents begin to produce a substance known

as ‘‘pigeon’s milk” from the lining of the crop,

the throat sac birds use to store food for their

young. This substance looks and smells like

cheese and is similar to mammalian milk in its

high fat and protein content. After about

the fourth day of life, the parents begin to

mix solid food with the ‘‘pigeon’s milk’.

The only native wild pigeon in the Washington

area is the mourning dove (Zenaidura

macroura) whcih is fairly common in Rock

Creek Park. (There are also two of them in the

Great Flight Cage at the National Zoo; it may

be hard to tell them from the spotted doves at

a distance.) This species is found throughout

North America, sharing its range with several

other members of the family in Southern and

Western regions. Like feral pigeons, mourning

doves may start breeding in February and raise

three or even four broods from that time

through early summer; so pigeon-watchers

should have many opportunities to look for

characteristic breeding behavior in this species.

In display flight, for instance, the male mourn-

ing dove flies almost directly upward for 100

feet or more, then glides back down ina

series of leisurely arcs. And, of course, the

connoisseur will not want to miss frequent

visits to the National Zoo’s Bird House, where

a great deal of varied and intriguing behavior—

most of it in species virtually unstudied in the

wild—awaits dedicated observers. @

The Friends of the Na-

tional Zoo Night is the

highlight of the season

_ for its members. It's a

family and friends picnic —

night, after hours on the

Zoo grounds, with free

- soft drinks and beer pro-

vided. A “‘behind the —

scenes tour \s featured,

along with baby animal

visits, this year starring

the twin orangutans. The

giant pandas will be a

must, and we hope to

have the architect’s mod-

el of the new Master Plan

for the Zoo on hand. Dr.

Bernhard Grzimek, fa-

mous nature writer and

Director of the Frankfurt

(Germany) Zoo is plan-

ning to attend, and we

hope to unveil a special

2 ehh Wee ens ~ . , aie

POE bes. . oS ae

_ ‘ ‘ aaa é :

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f vai

- A Members’ Evening

Friends of the National Zoo

June 9, 1972 |

exhibit of wildlife photo-

graphy that evening.

There will be tree train

rides for the children and

much more. Do come;

if you're not already a

member, join the Friends

of the National Zoo now

by filling out the applica-

tion insert in our THE

ZOOGOER magazine.