volume 5number 3

May-June 1976

contents

3 Eagles

9 ZooNews

Il Tails

17 BookNews

20 FONZNews

22 Wildlife Prints

Front Cover: Emblem of America and Bicenten-

nial bird of the year, the bald eagle is an impor-

tant and striking Zoo exhibit.

Back Cover: New at the Zoo is the handsome

dama gazelle, largest true gazelle and native to

the deserts of North Africa.

Design-Production:

Monica Johansen Morgan

Photograph on the front cover courtesy of

the Los Angeles Zoo by Garth Bacon; pp. 3,

4,5,6,7,8, 11, 12, 13, 14, & 15 by Francie

Schroeder; pp. 9 & 10 by Henry Eastwood;

p. 16 courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution;

pp. 17 & 18 courtesy of Viking Press; p. 20 by

Sabin Robbins; p. 21 bottom courtesy of Fen-

drick Gallery by John Tennant; p. 21 right by

Fendrick Gallery.

Friends

of es

the

National

is a non-profit organization of individuals and

families who are interested in supporting Zoo

education, research, and conservation.

FONZ Board of Directors 1975-76

Arthur W. Arundel, President

Montgomery S. Bradley, First Vice President

John S. Brown, Second Vice President

Stephen T. Hosmer, Treasurer

Julie P. Hubbard, Secretary

Peter C. Andrews

Theodore Babbitt

Lavell Merritt

Robert Nelson

Edward Boehm Ruth Nelson

Victor Delano John B. Oliver

Timothy V.A. Dillon Nancy Porter

Ronald Field Whayne Quin

M. Anthony Gould Ted Rivinus

Joan L. Jewett Rebecca Schergens

Donna K. Grosvenor Lee Talbot

Nella Manes

Cecil McLelland

Shirley McNair

Sabin Robbins, Executive Director

Sally Tongren

Gerald Wagner

As a FONZ, you and your family receive

many benefits—publications, discount privileges,

and Invitations to specia! programs and activities

—to make your zoogoing more enjoyable and

educational.

THE ZOOGOER is published bi-monthly and

copyrighted © by Friends of the National Zoo,

c/o National Zoological Park, Washington, DC

20009, second class mailing permit approved at

the Washington, DC rate in the United States

$3 a year (of annual dues).

Zoo Staff

Dr. Theodore H. Reed, Director

Mr. Edward Kohn, Deputy Director

Office Chiefs

Mr. Jaren Horsley, Animal Management

Dr. Christen Wemmer, Conservation &

Research Center

Dr. Mitchell Bush, Animal Health

Dr. Richard Montali, Pathology

Dr. John Eisenberg, Zoological Research

Mr. Emmanuel Petrella, Facilities Manage-

ment

Mr. Robert Engle, Construction Management

Mr. Joseph Reed, Management Services

Mr. Robert Mulcahy, Graphics & Exhibits

Ms. Judy White, Education & Information

Mr. Samuel Middleton, Police & Safety

he sight of an eagle in the wild is

T an unforgettable experience. Sadly,

it’s becoming less common every

day. Even a non-ornithologist seeing

one for the first time is likely to

realize that such a large bird of

prey can be nothing but an eagle.

The wings especially seem

unusually large and_ incredibly

flexible, beating in a kind of fluid

slow-motion no- other bird

duplicates.

Previous page: A breeding pair of eagles

makes its home in the Zoo’s large flight cage

atop Bird House hill. Full grown trees and a rock

waterfall simulate the bird’s wilderness habitat.

Anyone who has seen an eagle

knows why they have been chosen

for centuries to signify power and

sovereignty. Three thousand years

ago the kings of ancient Babylon

used representations of eagles on

their ceremonial scepters. The an-

cient Greeks, who believed every

kind of bird to be a messenger of a

god, considered the eagle the

messenger of Zeus, the king of

gods. The Romans called the

golden eagle “king of birds.’” When

the infant United States was

looking for an emblem, Congress

bypassed the golden eagle, which is

present in the New World as well as

the Old, and chose the bald eagle, a

native North American eagle that is

not found on any other continent.

After two centuries of our currency,

it is safe to say that the bald eagle’s

likeness has been reproduced more

times than any other bird.

Wings stretching six feet and tail fanned, the Zoo’s golden eagle gives striking proof of why the ancient Romans considered it the “king of

birds’ The name derives from the bird’s ““golden’”’ colored crown and nape.

Hooked beak and taloned feet mark birds of prey, such as the Zoo’s imperial eagle, as meat eaters. The strong, curving beak is perfect for

ripping and tearing prey into bite-sized chunks. Sharp and strong talons enable eagles to pierce and hold a variety of prey from slippery fish to

small mammals. Typically, eagles have three toes forward,one back.

Besides association with kingship

and civil authority, eagles have

long been proverbial for other

reasons. One is keen eyesight. In

fact, birds of prey—hawks and

vultures no less than eagles —have

excellent eyesight, perhaps

unrivalled in the animal kingdom.

Eagles are also noted for longevity,

and here again folklore has a basis

in fact. Several species have lived

up to 50 years in captivity.

la ivenic “contrast to ‘man’s

glorification of the eagle as a sym-

bol, his treatment of the actual bird

has been the reverse. Western

sheep- and cattle-men have shot

eagles from airplanes. Settlers have

destroyed their habitat to make

farms. By spreading pesticides, man

has affected the reproduction of

eagles and other birds of prey.

Ornithologists group the eagles in

several distinct but related groups

of birds of prey. One group is the

genus Aquila, whose members are

sometimes called the “true eagles.”’

This genus includes the golden

eagle Aquila chrysactos, formerly

found throughout North America

but now restricted to the West and

far North, and the imperial eagle

(Aquila heliaca), a Eurasian species

on exhibit at the National Zoo. The

genus Haliaetus live near water since

fish make up a large portion of

their diet. There is only one fish-

eagle in North America—the bald

eagle (Haliaetus leucocephaeus).

Immensely complex as life on this

planet is, all of it derives energy

from a single source—the sun.

Plants are able to utilize the sun’s

energy to make their own food.

Plant-eating animals in turn obtain

both nourishment and energy from

plants. Finally, predators take a

percentage of the _ plant-eating

animals. The simplest sort of food

chain is completed when an eagle

catches a ground squirrel which has

fed on grass seeds. Other food

chains may involve a few more

steps. When a bald eagle eats a

herring, the nutrients and energy it

gets are ultimately derived from

microscopic, single-celled algae.

Tiny crustaceans eat these algae

and are eaten by small fish, which

are in turn eaten by the herring.

Food chains are further com-

plicated by the fact that most

predators feed on a sizable number

of prey species. Golden eagles in

the West regularly feed on ground

squirrels, prairie dogs, jack-rabbits,

5

cotton-tail rabbits, grouse, and

quail, to name just a few.

Some ranchers also insist that

golden eagles kill newborn lambs

and calves. Conservationists grant

that the eagles may do so on rare

occasions. But they point out that

the victim was very likely quite

sickly and not likely to survive — if

indeed it was not dead already

when the eagle found it. Further,

exterminating eagles does more

harm to the rancher than good since

in a single spring a breeding pair

of golden eagles and their young

will consume over 500 rodents and

rabbits. All these rodents and rab-

bits would, if they lived, consume

as much grass as one adult sheep

and two adult cows. Eliminating

eagles can only help species that

compete with grazers for food.

The bald eagle has an even more

varied diet than the golden eagle.

In fact, some of its ways of getting

food have subjected our national

bird to ridicule and even downright

abuse. When it comes to obtaining

a meal, the bald eagle is an op-

portunist. It will scavenge or steal!

Ben Franklin considered the bald

eagle ‘‘a bird of bad moral charac-

ter. He does not get his living

honestly . . . too lazy to fish for

himself, he watches the labor of the

fishing-hawk, and when. that

diligent bird has at length taken a

Immature bald eagles, such as this Zoo-born

specimen, are frequently mistaken for

golden eagles and shot by ranchers who

believe they kill newborn lambs and calves.

It takes 3-4 years before bald eagles acquire

their characteristic white head and tail.

Powerful predator, the bald eagle soars on wings that when extended nearly seven feet feature widely separated primary feathers. The spaced

tips act as wing slots to reduce turbulence and increase efficiency.

fish and is bearing it to his nest for

the support of his mate and young

ones, the bald eagle pursues him

and takes it away from him.” Bald

eagles do sometimes steal fresh-

caught fish from the osprey or fish-

hawk, a smaller bird and better

fisherman. Franklin, who favored

the wild turkey as national emblem,

added the somewhat cryptic

remark that it made little difference

which bird was selected since few

people would be able to distinguish

an eagle from a turkey.

While scientists would not use

Franklin’s word “lazy”, they would

agree that a bald eagle will not ex-

pend energy needed to catch live

fish when dead fish are readily

available. Out West, eagles gather

where salmon are making a

spawning run upstream. Then, live

salmon fill shallow streams and

dead ones line the banks. When an

eagle is forced to do some real

fishing, he may choose a perch ona

branch that extends over the water

and wait there patiently for a fish to

come to the surface. It is reported

that he can swoop down and grab a

fish in his talons without wetting

more than his feet and legs. Water-

birds, small mammals, and almost

any kind of carrion are other items

in the bald eagle’s diet.

Positioned at the top of the food

chain, eagles are especially

vulnerable to the effects of

pesticides and other pollutants.

Some, like DDT, are long-lived.

Thus, while other insecticides break

7

down quickly into harmless con-

stituents, DDT remains in the en-

vironment for years. When small

birds or mammals eat plants or in-

sects contaminated with DDT, they

tend to store it in their fat cells.

There the DDT remains, often in

low enough concentration to be

harmless to the animal itself. Also,

DDT contaminates waters because

of run-off from land,-so- that

deposits build up in fish. An eagle

that eats a large amount of such

prey will build up DDT in its body.

Though most use of DDT has now

been stopped by law, it still lingers

in the environment. And_ other

chemicals, such as dieldrin, still in

use are suspected of having equally

harmful effects on wildlife.

It is not known whether eagles or

other birds of prey have actually

died from a build-up of DDT or

other pollutants in their tissues.

What has been proven is that such

chemicals drastically reduce

reproduction. A breeding female

with DDT in her system produces

eggshells of abnormal thinness.

While incubating the eggs, her own

weight is enough to break them.

Another factor affecting eagles has

been the destruction of wilderness

areas. Bald eagles, for instance,

build huge nests. They need very

large trees—preferably ever-

greens—to support them. One

nest in British Columbia was ten

feet in diameter and weighed

several hundred pounds. But in the

Eastern United States, most

primeval forest is gone. Second-

growth timber that has replaced it

has usually not yet reached suitable

heights. It is not surprising bald

eagles are really numerous only in

Alaska. Florida has the second

largest population, thanks in part to

conservationists who have suc-

cessfully preserved known nesting

sites there.

Besides Maine and Florida, the only

states on the eastern seaboard

where viable eagle breeding

populations exist are Maryland and

Virginia. The eagles’ survival in this

region is due to the Chesapeake Bay,

which provides abundant fish and

offers remote nest sites in isolated

salt marshes and creeks. Over the

past decade, the Chesapeake Bay

eagle population has declined, but

the ban on DDT and greater efforts

to monitor the Bay’s water quality

may eventually reverse the trend.

On a symbolic level, it is an en-

couraging sign for the bald eagle’s

future that the species has now

bred at the National Zoo. A single

chick hatched in May, 1973. The

eaglet thrived and fledged that

summer. Hopefully this is the be-

ginning of a baby boom at the Zoo.

by Austin Hughes

Ironically, while America celebrates the Bicentennial, its symbol—the bald eagle—faces

extinction. Although strictly protected since 1940, this uniquely American eagle is no match

against habitat destruction, pesticides, and illegal hunting.

Unique Clock Sings

Time at Zoo

What is 36 feet high, weighs 12,000

pounds, has animals that move, and

tells time? The Zoo’s new glocken

spiel, of course!

The glockenspiel (German for

playing bells) is the imaginative gift

of the late Dr. Ivy Pelzman of

Washington. It’s located about a

hundred yards inside the Con-

necticut Avenue pedestrian en-

trance.

Looking something like a futuristic

grandfather clock, the Pelzman

Glockenspiel ‘‘stands” on steel feet

three stories high. At the top is a

four-faced clock, each face being

seven feet wide. Below are four

animated animal figures that per-

form every fifteen minutes. The

lion and bear stand up and lift their

forelegs; the elephant raises its

trunk and turns its head; the giraffe

moves its head up and down. Five

birds “fly’ around the animals’

heads. Below the animals hang 35

bronze bells with a three octave

range. Beneath the two bell rows is a

see-thru plastic booth which houses a

console for live playing by a

carilloneur. It is a special treat to see

a carilloneur in action since they

Moving animals and chiming bells now tell

time at the Zoo. The 36 foot high glocken-

spiel (German for playing bells) is located

near Connecticut Avenue.

usually perform out of sight in bell

towers. The Zoo hopes to have Satur-

day morning recitals thru the summer.

An intricate electronics system

enables the glockenspiel to ring out

automatically. From 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

(on Sundays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.), the

big clock strikes the hour on its 253-

pound base bell and plays two songs.

The traditional “Westminster Chimes”

plays on the quarter hour and the

animals go through their motions.

In 1970, Dr. Pelzman approached the

National Zoo about donating a

glockenspiel in memory of his wife,

Katherine. Both of them had loved

the smaller glockenspiel at the Cen-

tral Park Zoo in New York City.

Dr. Pelzman, zoo architects, the Fine

Arts Commission, and a bell manufac-

turing company worked together to

produce an appropriate design.

Before the final plans were drawn, Dr.

Pelzman died, but bequeathed funds

to complete the project. His donation

represents the largest surn ever given

the National Zoo by a private citizen.

As Zoo director, Ted Reed, said after

watching the Pelzman Glockenspiel

in action, “It’s simple, dignified, char-

ming, whimsical, practical, and a

source of great amusement to

children and adults.”

by Michael J. Morgan

Public Information Assistant

The three-foot giraffe nods its long neck, a

bear stands up on his back legs, and an ele-

phant lifts its trunk. It’s all part of the hourly

animal show put on by the Zoo’s new glock-

enspiel, timely gift of the late Dr. Ivy

Pelzman.

10

bear has a stumpy one; a crocodile

A has a long, thick one; a lion a

tassled one; a lesser panda a furry strip-

ed one. A zoogoer sees a lot of animal

tails, with different lengths and uses.

A spider monkey uses his long tail like

an extra hand; he can pick up food

with it and can even support his entire

weight hanging by his tail alone. A

gnu uses his tail to flick away annoy-

ing insects. A wolf uses his tail to pro-

duce a “language” of signals and so

communicates with other wolves.

Vertebrates, the animal group that

includes not only man but also all

of the usual animals, are, of course,

distinguished by the fact that they

have backbones. Because they have

backbones, the vertebrates are the

only animals with tails. A tail, after

all, is basically only an extension of

the backbone beyond the hind pair of

limbs. Man, of course, has a

rudimentary, almost invisible one

as do others like the giant panda.

The first vertebrates were fish-like

creatures. Their tails were useful to

them for the same reason that a fish’s

tail is useful to it—in swimming. The

tail fin sweeps back and forth from

side to side, pushing against the water

and propelling the fish forward. The

basic fish tail has assumed many

different shapes over the course of

Previous page: Using its tail like an extra arm, the

Zoo’s prehensile-tailed skink lives in trees where

a grasping tail is useful.

Right: Swinging by its tail, one of the Zoo’s troop

of spider monkeys shows how handy an extra

arm can be for tree climbing.

evolution, as amphibians evolved

from fish, then reptiles from

amphibians, and finally birds and

mammals from reptiles.

When amphibians first moved onto

the land 350 million years ago, they

brought along tails inherited from

their fish ancestors. These first

amphibians were low-slung creatures

that were probably rather sluggish on

land and presumably still spent a lot

of time in the water. When swimming,

they doubtless lashed their tails from

side to side to provide propulsion just

as their fish ancestors had done. Still,

the first amphibians’ tails were

nothing like typical fish tails. They

probably resembled the tails of the

tadpoles and certain aquatic

salamanders of today, having only a

relatively small flap of fleshy fin but

lacking the bony or cartilaginous

struts of fishtail fins. On land, the

early amphibian tail served no very

obvious purpose. All that can be said

for it was that it provided a sort of

counterweight, preventing the

amphibian from being ‘‘front-heavy.”

Among today’s amphibians, the sala-

manders have preserved the ancestral

body plan with little variation. The

most obvious difference between

them and early amphibians is that

they tend to be much smaller. Frogs,

on the other hand, have lost their tails

as adults in the process of becoming

highly specialized jumpers. When

frogs swim, they get most of their

propulsion from the long hind legs

that power their leaps ashore. Still, as

tadpoles or larvae, frogs usually do

have long tails and use them in

swimming. Frogs are not the only

tailless vertebrates that outgrow their

tails. In a sense, all tailless verte-

brates, including humans, do the

same thing. As embryos, we have tails

which we lose during development.

There are no tailless reptiles. Even

snakes have tails—although it is not

easy to see where the rest of the body

ends and the tail begins! Alligators

and crocodiles have powerfully

muscled tails. An African antelope

approaching a river for water may be

knocked off his feet by a quick blow

from the crocodile’s tail. The croco-

dile can then grasp the antelope in his

jaws and pull him under water before

the startled mammal is able to

recover his footing. Once under

water, the crocodile uses its tail to

spin itself around to better twist off

fleshy chunks of its prey.

Many lizards can shed their tails when

pursued and later grow new ones. The

shed tail may even continue to writhe

for awhile in automatic muscular

contractions, thus distracting a

predators’ attention from the fleeing

lizard. The “glass lizard” is a legless

The large, strong tail of the smooth fronted caiman can be used as a powerful weapon and

to spin it around in the water to twist off pieces of its prey.

13

species that sheds its tail with partic-

ular ease. The lizard got its name

because it seems literally to “break in

two” when touched.

When a lizard’s tail is shed, the break

occurs within a tail vertebra, never

between vertebrae. There are special

muscles encircling the main artery of

the tail that clamp the artery tight

after the tail has been shed, thus

keeping blood-loss from the lizard’s

tail-stump at a minimum. When the

tail is regenerated, the lost vertebrae

are not regrown. They are replaced

Right: The tail of this leopard gecko is typical

of certain reptiles whose tails hark back to the

ancestral shape of the first amphibians who

crawled onto land 350 million years ago.

Below: Many lizards, like the Zoo’s leopard

gecko, can regrow their tail if cut off by accident

or predator. The shed tail may even wriggle

briefly afterwards, thus distracting a predator's

attention from the escaping lizard.

instead by a cartilage rod. In rare

cases, incomplete fracture of the tail

can cause the growth of a new tail

while the old tail is still attached. The

result: a fork-tailed lizard!

Some tree-dwelling lizards have

prehensile, or grasping tails, to assist

them in climbing. An example at the

Zoo’s Reptile House is the prehensile-

tailed skink of the Solomon Islands.

The venomous lizard known as the

gila monster, a native of the American

Southwest, uses his tail for yet

another purpose—fat storage. The

gila monster’s tail is extraordinarily

thickened and apparently acts as a

valuable food reserve in the species’

harsh desert habitat.

The first birds of which we have fossil

remains had long bony tails just like

their reptilian ancestors. But, as birds

improved their powers of flight, they

jettisoned most of their extra weight.

The bony part of a modern bird’s tail

is very short, indeed, hardly visible.

What we think of as a bird’s tail is

actually only the tail feathers. Birds

use their tail feathers in a variety of

signals and displays by which they

communicate with one another. They

may fan or wag their tails in

courtship displays, for instance. The

long tail plumes of male pheasants,

lacking in the female, are displayed to

her in courtship.

The tail of mammals has assumed

more different shapes and purposes

than in any other group of

vertebrates. Climbing mammals,

jumping mammals, and swimming

mammals all may have specially

adapted tails. Also, various mammals

have found ways of using their tails in

communcation.

The spider monkey, the woolly

monkey, and other New World mon-

key species in the Monkey House

have evolved prehensile tails to aid

them in their climbing. These

monkeys have a hairless area on the

tail that is whorled like a finger for

improved grip and sensitivity. Many

other tree-climbing monkeys do not

have prehensile tails, but their tails

none the less do play a role. When a

langur, for instance, is sitting upright

on a branch, his long tail hangs down

beneath him. It thus lowers his center

of gravity stabilizing the monkey.

Stability is important, since the langur

sleeps in just such a posture. When an

arboreal monkey leaps from branch to

branch, the tail is also important,

serving as a kind of rudder.

Some arboreal mammals besides

monkeys make similar use of their

tails—like the tree kangaroos in the

Reptile House.

Tree kangaroos, of course, are very

special kangaroos. But the more

familiar members of the kangaroo

family find their tails even more

valuable. The red kangaroo is an

example. This medium-sized

kangaroo gets around by broad

jumping his way across open

grassland. His tail is long and thick.

Used like a ship’s rudder, the long and furry

tail of a tree kangaroo “steers” it in leaps

from one limb to another. The tail also

serves as a Stabilizer when the animal sits

high on a branch.

15

Thus, it counterbalances the front half

of his body and brings his center of

gravity back over his massive hind

legs. The red kangaroo also uses his

tail as a prop when he is resting,

making it easier for him to stand on

his hind legs. When jumping, a

kangaroo can make a turn in midair

simply by lashing his heavy tail, thus,

reversing his direction in order to

escape danger.

Many mammals, like the Zoo’s white

tigers, swim well without any

particular adaptations for swimming.

Others are specialized for swimming

to a greater or lesser degree. The

ultimate specialization is represented

by whales and dolphins, which can

never come ashore. The beaver is

equally at home on land or in the

water but does possess a tail specially

adapted for swimming. The beaver

moves his broad, flat tail up and

down to propel him forward.

An even better swimmer, the sea lion,

has almost no tail at all. Its rear

“flippers” are really its hind legs.

Zoogoers who spend a few minutes at

the sea lion pool will see that the front

flippers provide the power stroke in

swimming. By contrast, whales and

dolphins propel themselves by means

of their tails. In these most aquatic of

mammals, the tail forms a horizontal

fin, in contrast to the vertical fin of

fishes. Thus, the whales’ tail fin moves

in| an up-and-down motion in

swimming. Evolution, it seems, took

the tail out of the water as a side-to-

side paddle and eventually returned it

as an up-and-down paddle.

16

Perhaps the most interesting use

mammals make of tails is in commu-

nication. This sort of behavior is

highly developed in the wolf. Mem-

bers of the wolf pack use subtle dif-

ferences in tail posture to indicate

varying degrees of threat, appease-

ment, or reassurance. Some of these

tail signals have persisted in the wolf’s

descendant, the domestic dog. Tail-

wagging is a sign of friendly submis-

siveness among wolves as it is with

dogs.

by Austin Hughes

The spectacular plumage of an Indian peafowl’s tail feathers serves as an important signaler

in courtship, as well as other display forms of communication.

BOOK H\\S

Among the Elephants

by lain and Oria Douglas-Hamilton;

Viking Press, 1975, 285 pp., $14.95.

It is hard to say whether we enjoy

animal books more for what we

learn about wildlife, or for what we

learn about the people who study it.

The life seems so delightfully un-

cluttered, we forget the years of

study and discipline that precede

and follow the days in the field.

Nikko Tinbergen’s introductions to

this book emphasizes this and sets

the book in perspective.

lain Douglas-Hamilton, fresh from

Oxford, arrived in East Africa, with

great enthusiasm and small funds to

study the elephants of Manyara Park

in Tanzania. The Manyara

population was growing and begin-

ning to destroy the acacia trees in

the park. This problem was common

to most of the parks, but Manyara

was small and famed for its lions

who loafed in these trees. The

questions facing the park authorities

was whether to control the ele-

phants by culling the herds, or allow

them to establish some sort of

balance, even at the cost of some

trees. To reach such a decision,

more data were needed. How many

elephants were there? Was the

population really growing? How fast

did acacia trees grow? Did elephants

leave the park?

In order to answer these questions,

Douglas-Hamilton had to recognize

individual elephants. He made a

photographic file, noting individual

scars, torn ears, tusk formations. He

estimated age by an ingenious

stereoptic camera arrangement. This

allowed him to measure elephants

against a height scale which had

been worked out in another park

where elephants were being culled

and could be studied in detail. But

most of his work was observation,

patient, detailed, and often risky.

From his study, elephants emerge as

sociable, intelligent creatures with

strong family loyalty. The Manyara

elephants lived in large kinship

groups, led by matriarchs. These of-

ten split into smaller groups com-

posed of mothers, daughters, and

calves. These smaller groups were

usually found in the same area. The

bulls were sociable but were not

part of the larger groups except

when a cow was in breeding con-

dition. Calves were treated tenderly

in their early years and had a long

adolescence.

Douglas-Hamilton’s conclusion

about Manyara was that the park

should be extended into the neigh-

boring forest preserve. There should

then be enough land to support the

elephants without too much wear on

the vegetation. Manyara was ina

unique position among African

parks, having available land next

Wild elephants are dangerous, but author Oria Douglas-Hamilton and her husband

developed such a special friendship with some that they were able to approach them

close-up. Here Oria introduces her baby girl to a large female and her calf.

door. Douglas-Hamilton feels that

each park should be managed on its

own merits: i.e. culling in some and

allowing others to pass through

cycles of destruction even at the

cost of massive starvation of

elephants as happened in Tsavo.

Oria Douglas-Hamilton writes the

middle section of the book, and is

also responsible for many of the

photographs. Here is a girl who grew

up in East Africa and is obviously

competent in dealing with bush

housekeeping, without being one of

those sickeningly intrepid explorers’

wives. She is sophisticated, sensitive,

and obviously convinced of the im-

portance of her husband’s work.

Lest one be carried away with the

charm of elephants, and it’s easy af-

ter reading this book, it might be

well to repeat a warning offered by

both the authors and Tinbergen. The

relationship enjoyed by the Douglas-

Hamiltons with certain elephants, is

a special thing. It is built on their

knowledge of the animals and the

animals’ knowledge of them and

built over many, many months. It is

not for the rest of us whether in the

wild or at the zoo. Elephants are pow-

erful. Their trunks are strong and have

a surprisingly long reach. They may

snatch at anything extended to them.

They should be appreciated and en-

joyed from a respectiful distance.

by Sally Tongren

FONZ, House Docent

Living Trophies

A Shocking Look at the Conditions

in American Zoos by Peter Batten;

Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1976,

246pp. $9.95.

No expose has ever been entirely

fair and balanced. In their zeal to

expose evils, authors almost in-

variably underemphasize the

good. Living Trophies is no ex-

ception. The result of a five-

month tour covering most of the

larger and many of the smaller

U.S. zoos, this book details count-

less examples of what the author

considers faulty animal care. In a

number of cases, the author's criti-

cisms will be dismissed as petty or

simply uninformed. But there is no

Two bull elephants fence playfully with their trunks while impala stand by, unperturbed. The fascinating habits of African elephants highlight

an important new book, Among the Elephants.

doubt that in some zoos Batten des-

cribes appalling conditions.

Thus his book should provoke a

thorough examination of con-

science on the part of anyone in-

volved in zoo management. It serves

as a warning that an increasingly

aware public will no longer tolerate

the inhuman conditions of the old

“roadside menagerie.” To zoos,

like the National Zoo, that

escaped major criticism, this book

can provide a reminder of just

how much progress has been

made over the years.

The author is not a scientist, but

he is a former zoo director. Most of

the book is simply a record of what he

saw on his nationwide zoo tour. Ina

few cases, Batten interviews zoo

personnel and quotes previously

published literature.

Since Batten made only brief visits

to each zoo, he may at times have

mistaken a temporary condition

for a permanent one. For instance,

he cites the National Zoo for

keeping a sea lion in a bear cage.

In fact, the sea lions were kept in

cages only a few days while their

pool was being painted. If Batten

had taken the trouble to ask a

keeper, he would have learned

that the situation was only tem-

porary. It sometimes seems that

Batten wants to get in a few digs

at every zoo he visited, even the

best ones. This is not to deny that

Batten saw some shocking conditions

at certain zoos.

After revealing real abuses that do

exist in some American zoos, Bat-

ten is far less enlightening about

offering either causes or cures. He

realizes zoos are here to stay,

while hoping to see them im-

proved. He contends bluntly that

all problems stem from a single

source —the ‘incompetence’ of

Zoo personnel. Not only is this

charge grossly unfair, but it will

alienate an audience that really

should read Batten’s book— zoo

personnel themselves.

If we examine the problem of

inadequate, old-fashioned exhibits

we can see how false Batten’s

charge is. Competent and

dedicated personnel in zoos

throughout the country are

acutely aware of the shortcomings

of antiquated zoo buildings,

cages, and paddocks. They are

unable to change them because

the money is simply not forth-

coming. An overextended city gov-

ernment or an apathetic public are at

fault. In some cases, the answer

may be that some zoos should close.

But the decision does not lie with

zoo personnel, who simply try to do

their best with outmoded facilities.

In addition, it is worth noting that

many of the older exhibits rightly

criticized by Batten as “unbiological’”

represented the best zoological

knowledge of their time. Knowledge

progresses faster than physical

structures can.

/

Finally, there is an inexplicable

anti-scientific streak running through

Batten’s book. He seems to regard

scientific research on zoo animals

as an unmitigated evil. Actually, he

seems to have a ludicrously distorted

idea of what scientific research is

all about. To Batten, all scientists are

“vivisectionist” Frankensteins prac-

ticing bizarre cruelties on helpless

animals. As it happens, scientific

research will provide the only real

cure for the abuses Batten has

described. Only by learning all the

requirements of animals as biological

organisms can we hope to provide for

them in captivity.

Batten is right that mistakes by

human caretakers can cause misery

or death for zoo animals. But ac-

curate scientific knowledge is the

only way to improve human error.

Scientific knowledge can provide the

basis for proper animal-care

procedures. In his opposition to

science, Batten casts his lot with the

old-time zoo men who claimed to

have a mystical communion with

animals and an intuitive un-

derstanding of their wants. (Batten,

of course, seems to think his own in-

tuitions are always correct, while the

intuitions of others are fallible.) In

fact, an intuitive, emotional ap-

proach to animal care on the part of

well-meaning but untrained per-

sonnel is one of the major reasons

for the abuses Batten has seen in

American zoos.

by Austin Hughes

19

Zoo Puppet Shows

Staged by Aides Zoo

Are you a Zoodle at the National Zoo?

More than 50 junior members of

FONZ are! They are participating in

this summer's Junior Zoo Aide pro-

gram which uses puppets to persuade

zoogoers not to feed or tease

the animals.

Heroes of each of the four different

puppet shows are imaginary creatures

called Zoodles, who talk in rhyme and

persuade the other puppet characters

nottolitter, feed, or tease the animals.

As one of the Zoodles explains,

“Zoodles try to help the animals that

live here in the Zoo. And | try to teach

visitors that arrive the whole day

through. Not to mistreat the animals

tho’ | know they don’t mean to...

But they feed them things and they

shouldn’t. You’d be amazed at the

things they do. It takes an awful lot of

Zoodles to work here at the Zoo.”

When asked why he thought the “no

feeding” campaign was necessary, a

FONZ puppeteer explained, “The pub-

lic doesn’t know that they can help

the animals more by not feeding them.

Now that we have a new Zoo with

moated enclosures, it makes it easier

forthe visitor to feed the animals. I’m

glad | can help the Zoo and animals

by teaching the public. Maybe some

of us will think now before throwing

that peanut.”

20

The four shows were written for FONZ

by Bob Brown Marionettes, who also

trained the volunteers. The puppets

are scheduled to perform about every

half-hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on

weekdays until August 13 throughout

the park.

Each show dramatizes a different but

common Zoo problem such as feed-

ing animals which are all on con-

trolled diets, garbage being thrown

into moated areas, and reaching to

touch or tease animals which are now

more accessible to the public. Aseach

show ends, the Zoodle asks the audi-

ence to help: “Won’t you come and

join us. We need everyone of you.

Come and be a Zoodle and help the

National Zoo.”

The titles of each show — “Tiger Tales,”

“Bird Bits,” “Bear Facts,” and ‘Ele-

phant Epics” are keyed to the area in

which the show is presented.

In past summers, Junior Zoo Aides

have provided information to the pub-

lic on endangered species and the

“new zoo.” This summer, by letting

the “puppets do the talking,” FONZ

volunteers are using entertainment to

help the Zoo carry out its important

“no feeding” campaign.

by Donna Schlegel

FONZ Education Department

An imaginary Zoodle and a trumpeting elephant are among the colorful stars of four

different puppet shows being produced this summer at the Zoo by FONZ junior members.

Members Invited to

Animal Art Show

In July FONZ members can combine

art-going and zoogoing. Georgetown’s

Fendrick Gallery, in cooperation with

the Friends of the National Zoo, will

have an unusual summer exhibition

devoted to animal art.

Mrs. Daniel Fendrick, head keeper at

the gallery, located at 3059 M Street,

has invited members to the special

exhibition, ‘Friends of (in) the Zoo:

Artists’ Favorite Animals,” which runs

from July 13-31 (Monday thru Satur-

day, 10-6). FONZ members will be

able to purchase, at a discount,

selected works by two of the artists.

The exhibition dramatizes the differ-

ent ways artists interpret animals

from life-like—and almost life-size —

wood carvings to nearly abstract

animal designs on finely textured

rice paper. One artist specializes in

funny dogs; another uses snakes and

butterflies to depict fantasies. Prices

range from $30 to $1200.

Above, artist Jacques Hnizdovsky creates an

unusual penguin woodblock print.

Left, carved in wood and painted by Felipe

Archuleta, a lion, tiger, and giraffe

are part of the wild scene at Georgetown’s

Fendrick Gallery.

21

Artist Completes

Series for FONZ

Six of the National Zoo’s most

famous, fascinating, and favorite

animals star in the limited-edition

series of wildlife portraits drawn ex-

clusively for FONZ by the Zoo’s

official artist, Warren A. Cutler.

The special series of wildlife prints has

been featured in past issues of The

Zoogoer. Now, with the completion of

all six (giant panda, snowy owl, white

tiger, colobus monkey, jaguar, and

lesser panda), FONZ members have a

final chance to obtain the complete

set or individual drawings by return-

ing the enclosed order card.

The six lithographs, each 18” by 24”,

are printed on the finest available

paper and will be numbered and

signed personally by the artist.

Warren Cutler has been the official

illustrator of the National Zoo since

1973. His devotion to life-like detail

has made him one of the outstanding

wildlife artists in the world. He is

frequently compared to Audubon. His

one-man show at a major art gallery

was an immediate sell-out.

Those interested in obtaining these

collector-calibre prints should return

the order card as soon as possible.

22