volume 6, NuMber 4

July/August 1977

Contents

3 Primate Noses

9 ZooNews

13 Animal Health

21 BookNews

23 FONZ News

Front Cover: A lion-tailed macaque is one

of several species in the Monkey House that

daily demonstrate the importance of smell

in the life of a primate.

Back Cover: Giving a gazelle an injection,

Dr. Clint Gray (right) carries out a preven-

tive medicine program that enables Zoo

animals to live longer than their counter-

parts in the wild.

Design-Production:

Monica Johansen Morgan

Copy Editor:

Mary Massey

Photographs on front cover by Ray Faass,

pp. 3,4,5, 7, 8,9, 11, & 12 by Francie

Schroeder; pp. 13 & 14 by the National

Zoo’s Office of Graphics and Exhibits:

pp. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, & back cover by

Sabin Robbins; p. 20 courtesy of Harper &

Row Publishers.

Friends

of

the

National

is anon-profit organization of individuals and

families who are interested in supporting Zoo

education, research, and conservation.

FONZ Board of Directors 1976-77

Stephen T. Hosmer, President

John S. Brown, First Vice President

Nancy Porter, Second Vice President

M. Anthony Gould, Treasurer

Victor Delano, Secretary

Peter C. Andrews

Theodore Babbitt

Edward G. Boehm

Janice A. Booker

Cecil McLelland

Lavell Merritt

Sheila D. Minor

Robert L. Nelson

Montgomery S. Bradley John B. Oliver

Timothy V. A. Dillon Whayne Quin

Ronald J. Field Edward F. Rivinus

Donna Grosvenor Julie V. Taft

Julie P. Hubbard Lee Talbot

Nella Manes Sally S. Tongren

FONZ Staff

Sabin Robbins, Executive Director

Dennis Baker, Associate Director

Donna Schlegel, Volunteer & Educational

Services

Monica Morgan, Membership & Publications

Michael Gill, Food Services

Lisa diGirolamo, Merchandising

Renée Caldwell, Trains, Parking &

Maintenance

Norma Gay, Accountant

As a FONZ, you and your family receive many

benefits — publications, discount privileges, and

invitations to special programs and activities —to

make your zoogoing more enjoyable and educa-

tional.

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. Jaten 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

Primate Noses

Helen Kafka

iologists have known for a

B long time that lower primates

(bush babies, pottos, lemurs, etc.)

depend heavily on their sense of

smell to find food and to regu-

late social interactions with each

other. Like most other mammals,

they have large areas of smell-

related tissue in their noses. They

also have a variety of scent

glands and use glandular secre-

tions, urine, and other body scents

to defend territory, to estab-

lish territorial paths, to mark

themselves and each other, and

to choose mates.

Chemical substances that convey

a message from one animal to

another are collectively labeled

“pheromones.”” Only recently

have the existence and _ signifi-

cance of pheromones in the lives

of higher primates been docu-

mented. Monkeys, apes, and men

have much smaller smelling areas

in their noses than do most lower

mammals, but scent glands and

pheromones abound and are of

major importance to many, if not

all, primates.

Previous Page: A primate nose, like this

celebes crested macaque’s, is a multi-

purpose device that identifies other individ-

uals and their territories, detects dominant

and subordinate animals, and gauges sex-

ual receptiveness.

4

All New World (Central and

South America) monkeys have

scent glands on their chests.

Some species have glands in their

anogenital regions as well. The

scent-marking of marmosets and

tamarins has been studied exten-

sively. Most of the marking in a

marmoset group is done by the

dominant male and female, so

the area the dominant animals

occupy becomes saturated with

their scent. A male smells and

tastes the markings, urine, and

genitals of his mate to learn when

she is in estrus. At that time there

is a noticeable increase in mark-

ing frequency by both animals

and in sniffing by the male. A

similar increase in marking by the

female and sniffing by the male

occurs in the latter part of the

female’s pregnancy. This behav-

ior keeps him close to her and

The Zoo’s colony of golden-haired marmosets uses scent secretions to mark and defend

territories, identify friends and strangers, choose mates, and even help prepare fathers for

their role in raising young.

probably helps prepare him for

the birth, after which he assumes

much of the infants’ care. Mar-

mosets can recognize individuals

by scent alone. If a stranger is

introduced into a _ group, the

group members of the same sex

as the intruder mark each other

and their surroundings with great

vigor and finally attack the intrud-

er. As many as three days later,

they can pick out his scent on a

perch from that of other animals

and sniff and mark the area where

their recent enemy has marked.

Likewise, they can discriminate

between the marks of a male and

a female and those of a dominant

and a subordinate animal. (They

pay the most attention to male

and dominant animals’ scents.)

The role of scent-marking has

been studied less extensively in

other New World primates. The

Zoo’s howler and woolly mon-

keys leave most of the marking to

dominant males, who have the

strongest scent. It is a_ strong,

sweetish smell which clings to all

objects, animals, and people with

whom the males come in contact.

Any kind of alarm or the presence

of an estrous female sends the

males into vigorous bouts of lip-

and chest-rubbing, in which saliva

and secretions are mingled to

form a thick, brown, oily sub-

stance on the spot they choose to

mark. When | was a keeper in the

Monkey House, | could always

tell when the dominant male

woolly monkey was in a bad

mood: the sweeter he smelled,

the fouler his temper! Uakaris and

howlers of both sexes anoint

themselves and their surround-

ings with glandular secretions,

saliva, and urine. Uakaris also like

to rub strong-scented objects

such as citrus peel on their fur.

Spider monkeys seem not to mark

their surroundings very much, but

both sexes anoint themselves with

glandular secretions by scratching

their fur briskly and rubbing their

chest glands against each other,

apparently seeking contact with

each others chest glands. The

return of an animal who has been

separated from the group for a

long period stimulates prolonged

marking behavior in the Zoo’s

spider monkey colony.

Many, if not all, New World male

monkeys taste or smell the urine

of mature females, which tells

them when the females are in

estrus. During that time, they

taste the female’s urine and sniff

her genitalia with greater fre-

quency than usual.

If alarmed or alerted by an estrous female,

male woolly monkeys will vigorously rub

their lips and chest against a nearby sur-

face and deposit a strong-smelling, oily-

like secretion. It’s easy for keepers to know

the mood of the dominant male: the sweeter

the smell, the fouler the temper!

Little scent-marking behavior has

been observed in higher Old

World (Africa, Asia, and Europe)

primates. They also have differ-

ent scent glands than New World

monkeys. Gibbons do have skin

glands on the chest, and the scent

of a male Siamang gibbon is

noticeable to humans several feet

away. Orangutans and goril-

las secrete a strong smelling, oily

substance over most of their

bodies. This secretion may be

protection against rain or it may

have some. other significance.

Gorillas and chimpanzees have a

characteristic strong odor caused

by bacterial action or secretions

from their armpits and pubic

regions. The function of these

odors is not known, but their

presence is indisputable, as Zoo

visitors are well aware.

One thing that is known is that

many, or perhaps all, monkeys

and apes from the Old World de-

pend on their sense of smell to

confirm that a female is in estrus.

For example, if the nostrils of a

male rhesus macaque. are

plugged with treated gauze to

block his sense of smell, he will

not copulate with females who

Napping with nostrils alert, an orangutan secretes a strong-smelling oil over most of its

shaggy-haired body. Some say it’s for waterproofing.

are in estrus—even though their

behavior and their pink bottoms

clearly advertise their condition

to the male’s eyes. If the gauze

is removed, he will again be in-

terested in the females. Even

among macaques (such as the

three species that the Zoo exhib-

its) with conspicuous sexual

swelling, males usually sniff

females before copulating.

The male-attracting pheromone

compounds have been identified

from rhesus macaque’s vaginal

secretions as mixtures of certain

organic acids formed by symbi-

otic bacteria in the presence of

the female hormone, estrogen.

Similar compounds have been

identified in other macaques,

baboons, patas monkeys, squirrel

monkeys, and man. Jane Goodall

noted that male chimpanzees

usually investigate females by

smell before mating with them —

even though the females have

dramatic sexual swellings. Keep-

ers at the Zoo have noted similar

sniffing behavior among orangu-

tans, but females do not show ex-

ternal signs of estrus.

One researcher has noted that

human beings, who also produce

sexual pheromones, have what

would be considered in a lower

mammal a fully-developed set of

scent glands. However, as the

Same researcher points out, it is

Among the Zoo’s colony of colobus monkeys, mouth-sniffing is used to check out new food. Infants learn what to eat by watching their

mother and smelling her mouth as she eats. Adults behave similarly. Interestingly, subordinate colobus usually sniff dominant colobus.

not possible to draw simple con-

clusions about the role of smell

in human social behavior. That

behavior is subject to vast modi-

fication and cultural and individ-

ual experience.

Little work seems to have been

done on the relation between pri-

mates’ sense of smell and their

feeding behavior. However, |

have seen some examples of the

use they make of their noses

at dinnertime in the Monkey

House. If an unfamiliar food is

presented to a group of mon-

keys, they all sniff it carefully,

often before touching it. If it has

a strong smell, as animal fat does,

they are apt to be startled and

very hesitant about picking it up.

After the first encounter, they will

accept or reject it by sight. An

infant learns what to eat by

watching its mother eat, trying to

take food from her hands, and

sniffing her mouth when it sees

something go in. Older animals

often sniff each other's mouths,

and this is tolerated where actual

food snatching would not be.

In the Zoo’s colobus colony,

mouth sniffing seems to be a

ritual. The mouth sniffing may

take place in the hierarchy. Adult

7

males are usually the first to try

new food. The males occasional-

ly sniff each other's mouths.

Adult females will sniff the males’

mouths, subordinate females will

sniff the mouths of higher-ranking

females, and the juveniles will

sniff any older animal’s mouth.

The howlers may take days to ac-

cept a new food. The female

tends to wait for the male to try

the food first. Other species in the

Monkey House are more casual

about choosing what they like to

eat and less formal in their investi-

gation of new foods.

The next time you pay a visit to

the Zoo, you may be able to ob-

serve some of these smell-related

behavior patterns. So keep your

eyes open— and your nose!

Many if not all Old World monkeys, like

this Barbary macaque, depend on their

nose to tell them when a female is in estrus.

Only recently have zoologists documented

the full significance of smell-producing

chemical substances called pheromones.

——

A

: =

WS F

A Zoo First—

Fennec Babies

Harold Egoscue

Mammalogist

The Zoo’s fennec population in-

creased 300% thanks to four pup-

pies born in July at the Small

Mammal House. It was the Na-

tional Zoo’s first recorded birth of

these big-eared, tiny foxes (Fen-

necus zerda) from the deserts of

North Africa. Mating by the Zoo’s

only pair had been observed in

late May, and the litter arrived on

schedule following the usual ges-

tation of about 50 days.

In captivity, fennec mothers are

often nervous, so the exhibit was

shielded and roped off temporari-

ly to give the family a few days’

privacy. Extra dens were provided

in case the female wanted to

move her family.

Observations on growth and de-

velopment of the litter have been

limited to what could be seen

during occasional quick looks to

check on their progress, which so

far has been excellent. By the

time the pups were old enough to

be up and around, the mother

had shifted them several times.

Scampering around mother, these fennec pups are the first recorded births of fennecs at the National Zoo. The litter of four is healthy and growing

quickly.

A Bevyof Snakes

Eliza Soyster

FONZ House Guide

The recent population explosion

among the Zoo’s snakes might

have gone unnoticed by the gen-

eral public because no “preg

watches” or other obvious alerts

were mounted. Snakes go about

the business of reproduction as

quietly as they go about life it-

self. Nevertheless, such varied

species as mangrove pit vipers,

corn snakes, black rat snakes, Asi-

atic striped rat snakes, and two

species of pythons have replen-

ished themselves this year. Other

snakes contributing to the baby

boom are puff adders, African

house snakes, Indian cobras, and

rufous beaked snakes.

Snakes demonstrate interesting

contrasts in reproduction tech-

niques as illustrated by the Zoo's”

Burmese pythons and puff ad-

ders. The Burmese python (Py-

thon molurus bivittatus), one of

the world’s largest snakes, is a

constrictor native to Burma and

the Indo-Australian region. It be-

longs to a very primitive family of

living snakes. Its vestiges of pelvis

and hind legs indicate descent

from a four-legged, lizard-like an-

cestor. The hind leg remnants

10

look like claws. These anal spurs

are much larger in the male and

are used to stroke the female dur-

ing courtship. This rapid back-

and-forth action may be observed

by the casual visitor to the Reptile

House during the winter when .

mating occurs. Eggs are usually

laid in early spring and hatch ap-

proximately two months later.

Large snakes may lay as many as

100 eggs, but the usual is 20-40.

The female Burmese python coils

her body around the mound of

eggs until they hatch. During this

two-month period, she does not

leave the clutch to feed, although

she may drink water. Zoo keepers

put a bowl of water nearby so the

female does not have to leave the

eggs to drink.

All reptiles are exothermic—de-

pendent for warmth on external

sources of heat. This fact limits

the geographic distribution of

snakes and is the reason why

snakes in temperate zones hiber-

nate in the colder seasons. How-

ever, the female in some python

subspecies can produce signifi-

cant amounts of heat while

brooding eggs. The female in-

creases her body temperature

several degrees (3-4 according

to tests at: the National Zoo) by

contracting her muscles to heat

the eggs. These contractions

often appear to observers to be

“hiccuping’” but are more like

shivering. Interestingly, if all the

eggs are removed for artificial in-

cubation, the female continues

her coil and muscular contrac-

tions until hatching time arrives.

The python’s parchment-like egg

shells are tough, so it is difficult

for hatchlings to cut their way

out. The hatching process may

take up to a whole day. The

hatchling is equipped by nature

with an egg tooth that cuts

through the resilient shell. The

egg tooth drops off soon after

hatching. Newborn pythons may

be 20 inches long. Parental care

by snakes is unheard of, and the

newborn pythons disperse right

after they hatch.

The puff adder (Britis arietans)

is a large-bodied, venomous

snake which is widely distributed

throughout the dry regions of sub-

Sahara, Morocco, and the Arabi-

an peninsula. In June one of the

Zoo’s female puff adders gave

birth to 22 young. In contrast to

egg-laying (oviparous) pythons,

the puff adder does not lay eggs.

Her eggs—usually about 30 in

number—stay in her body and

develop for approximately five

months when the babies emerge

live (ovoviviparity). These soft-

shelled eggs contain a_ large

amount of yolk to nourish the

growing embryo. The thin egg

membrane usually tears before or

during birth. Like pythons, puff

adder hatchlings use an egg tooth

to cut their way out of the shell.

At birth, the 4% inch long puff

adders take off in all directions.

Newborn snakes do not feed until

after their first molt. The Zoo’s

puff adders shed in several hours

and were eating the same day. In

contrast, baby pythons born in

May and June were not feeding

until the end of August.

Live-bearing has advantages over

egg-laying and is an advanced re-

productive adaptation. There are

no temperature, humidity, or pro-

tection problems for the embryo

developing in what amounts to an

incubator. Live-bearing is com-

mon among the most highly

evolved snakes.

The National Zoological Park

gives tender, loving care to all its

baby snakes and rejoices when

they, too, mature and reproduce.

Just a few fingers full at birth, the Zoo’s Burmese pythons will grow up to an impressive 15

feet long. The snakes have been staging a baby boom in the Reptile House.

eopa rd Cat Bo rn Almost as big as his mother, the young leopard cat (left), born in May, is on exhibit in the

Small Mammal House. About the size of a domestic cat, these wild cousins (Prionaicurus

H bengalenis) roam the forests and jungles of Southeast Asia. Little is known about them, but

t N ational Zoo they are described as loners except during mating.

i)

Animal Health

Thomas Crosby

with assistance from:

Drs. Philip K. Ensley, R.

Mitchell Bush, Richard J.

Montali, P. Jack Hoopes, and

Suzanne Kennedy

t’s simple when humans get

sick. They just call a doc-

tor. But when an animal —especi-

ally a Zoo animal—has a prob-

lem, it is often hard to discover.

At the National Zoo, a never-end-

ing watch is conducted by cura-

tors, keepers, and veterinarians

for suspicious signs—loss of ap-

petite, unusual behavior, diar-

rhea, unexplained laziness —that

could mean illness. And when an

animal does have a_ problem,

there is the complex task of trying

to correct it. Putting a plaster cast

on an injured human leg is easy

compared to putting a fiberglass

cast on the leg of a 350-pound

Bengal tiger.

First, the tiger must be lured into

a portable “squeeze” cage and

Previous Page: Studying x-rays helps Dr.

Mitchell Bush, head of Animal Health, diagnose

— and treat — health problems among the Zoo’s

2,400 animals.

Expert hands give this infant colobus mon-

key its first physical. Careful medical care

will ensure a long and healthful Zoo life

for this endangered monkey.

transported to the Zoo’s modern

Hospital/Research Building — lo-

cated behind the former adminis-

trative headquarters. There the

sides of the cage are moved in-

ward to hold the tiger firmly so it

can be injected with an immo-

bilizing drug. The amount used

must be carefully measured or the

animal could stop breathing.

Once unconscious, the tiger is

taken to one of the two operating

rooms, and a specially trained

cadre of veterinarians and medi-

cal technicians go to work with

the precision of a military drill

team. The tiger’s temperature is

taken, blood samples are extrac-

ted, and oxygen is pumped into

the tiger—along with anesthesia

—through a tube placed in the

tiger’s windpipe. Blood tests are

conducted to make sure the big

cat is getting enough oxygen and

expelling carbon dioxide. The leg

is shaved for casting.

Dr. Mitchell Bush, head of the

Zoo’s Office of Animal Health,

has helped pioneer the use of

fiberglass casts for exotic animals.

They are quick setting, light-

weight, and strong enough to

withstand the abuse of an animal

trying to gnaw the cast off.

The veterinarians study the bone

x-rays and the movement of the

leg, then carefully place the cast.

What might have taken 30 min-

utes for a doctor in a hospital

emergency room has taken al-

most four hours at the Zoo.

All three of the Zoo’s veterinari-

ans use the hospital’s portable x-

ray machine whenever an animal

is injured to check for possible

internal damage.

Once the cast is in place, the tiger

—still unconscious—is placed

back in the squeeze cage and

watched until it is nearly awake.

Then it is transported back to the

basement of the Lion and Tiger

House to rest while the leg heals.

Nothing comes easily when treat-

ing Zoo animals. Some birds are

so nervous they die from shock

when handled by humans. Almost

no wild animal will sit still for a

probing physical examination.

The veterinarian always carefully

considers whether or not to han-

dle an animal. Will the trauma of

Sophisticated laboratory testing in the Zoo’s modern Hospital-Research Building plays a

vital role in keeping animals healthy.

16

being handled be worse for the

animal than the illness or injury?

Some injuries that would be fatal

to an animal in the wild can be

healed in captivity. For example,

Dr. Bush has grafted bone from a

wolf’s rib to fix its broken leg. In

the wild, the wolf may have been

killed by other predators.

Dr. Bush also devised an artifical

peg leg for a serpent eagle. In the

wild, if the eagle could not perch,

it might starve to death.

While human medicine has ad-

vanced rapidly in recent years,

knowledge about the care of

exotic animals has advanced at a

turtle’s pace. For example, no one

knows what the normal tempera-

ture of a polar bear is or what the

blood pressure should be in a

healthy Barbary ape.

It is the desire to learn that

prompts everyone connected

with the Offices of Animal

Health, Pathology, and Animal

Management to keep precise rec-

ords of everything they do. The

records, which the Zoo is compu-

terizing for quick retrieval, will

hopefully one day show what is

normal for certain animals as well

Facing Page: All hands full of wriggling snake,

three assistants help Dr. Bush (right) get his 15-

foot patient, a reticulated python, onto the

examination table.

as provide an accurate medical

history of a particular patient.

The National Zoo shares its in-

formation with other zoos, and

there is an immediate exchange

of knowledge between zoos

whenever a new medical tech-

nique is successfully tried. A new

technique was recently tried at

the National Zoo to save a dying

flamingo. Dr. P. Jack Hoopes, the

Zoo’s newest resident intern vet-

erinarian, gave three separate

blood transfusions to the sick fla-

mingo, including one transfusion

of pelican blood.

“It is the first time we know of

transfusions being used for medi-

cal purposes to save a sick bird,”

said Hoopes. The transfusions

were successful, and there were

no signs of rejection. However,

the bird died six days after the last

transfusion from unrelated inter-

nal problems.

Death at the National Zoo is nev-

er pleasant, but with nearly 2,400

animals representing over 650 dif-

ferent species—some with short

life spans — it is unavoidable. Des-

pite one of the finest medical pro-

grams in the United States, a

small percentage of animals die

at the Zoo each year, many from

old age.

Fortunately, the dead frequently

help the living. The National Zoo

has a full-time pathologist, Dr.

Richard J. Montali, who heads its

Office of Pathology. Either Dr.

Montali or his staff examine every

dead Zoo animal from a baby liz-

ard smaller than your finger to a

6,000-pound elephant. Diseased

tissues are scrutinized, blood is

analyzed for white and red cell

counts, and cultures are grown

and studied.

Dr. Montali’s findings often lead

to better care for the living. Post

mortems give vital information

about an animal’s eating habits. If

an animal’s nutritional needs are

not being met, a new diet will be

ordered.

It was Dr. Montali’s analysis last

year of the body of a blesbok (Af-

rican antelope) that prevented an

outbreak of yersinosis—a poten-

tially deadly disease often called

pseudo-tuberculosis— among the

hoofed stock. An immediate

search revealed that rats and pig-

eons had brought the disease into

the park, and an accelerated ex-

termination program eliminated

the guilty rats and pigeons. The

hoofed animals were quaran-

tined, and a possibly devastating

epidemic was averted.

Dr. Montali’s staff recently

moved into a spacious, new

$160,000 pathology building be-

7

hind the Hospital/Research Build-

ing. It can accommodate animals

ranging in size from a humming-

bird to a giraffe.

Another new building under con-

struction across from the Hospi-

tal/Research Building is a quaran-

tine and holding area for hoofed

stock and other large animals that

must be isolated until they re-

ceive a clean bill of health.

The new buildings and the pro-

fessionally equipped Hospital/

Research Building represent a

continuing commitment by the

Zoo to give its animals the best

medical care possible.

Quarantined animals, patients

kept in the Hospital/Research

Building, and the animals in the

park are checked daily by the

Zoo veterinarians, who are on call

Doubling the looking can double the learning at this high-powered microscope. Dr. Richard

Montali (right), the Zoo’s pathologist, helps an associate diagnose diseased tissue for clues

to improve health procedures.

18

for emergencies 24 hours a day.

Frequently accompanying the

vets on their daily rounds are

specialists in human medicine.

Dr. Bush has called on opthalmol-

ogists, oral surgeons, anesthesi-

ologists, radiologists, urologists,

and orthopedists to give opinions

on difficult animal health prob-

lems. “I can get a doctor to look

at a sick gorilla quicker than | can

get a doctor to look at me,” said

Dr. Bush.

In addition to the three full-time

resident veterinarians, there are

veterinary students, called pre-

ceptors, and military doctors

seeking experience in treating

exotic animals who work at the

Zoo for short periods.

Army Captain Nelson Isenhower,

an anesthesiologist from Walter

Reed Hospital, who spent five

weeks working with Dr. Bush, said

he was fascinated with the way

certain drugs produced different.

results in animals of similar spe-

cies. ‘‘We used the same drug to

get the same effect on a polar

bear and a grizzly,” said |sen-

hower. “We gave the 900-pound

polar bear one milligram, and he

was out. We gave the 200-pound

grizzly six milligrams, and he

needed more.”

Such wide variances do not occur

in humans, but some animals

have well-developed enzyme sys-

tems that can break down a drug

so fast it becomes ineffective.

Anesthetizing an animal poses

two primary dangers. Too much

of the drug could kill the animal

—especially huge animals whose

weight makes breathing more dif-

ficult when unconscious. Give

too little of the drug, and the ani-

mal may awaken before the vet-

erinarian is finished.

In the Zoo’s primate population,

these dangers are lessened be-

cause of the work done by full-

time research assistant Randy

Custer. He analyzes the blood

gases of unconscious primates to

make sure they are getting

enough air and expelling the

proper amount of carbon dioxide.

Custer’s research makes it less

risky to immobilize such animals

as siamangs, gibbons, gorillas,

and orangutans.

All of the professionals at the Zoo

engage in clinically related re-

search. Dr. Suzanne Kennedy,

who is in her second year as a resi-

dent veterinarian, has been study-

ing how to treat aspergillosis (a

deadly fungal infection) in birds.

Fortunately, the dead frequently help the

living. Close-up photographs of this monkey

are part of the detailed record keeping and

research used by vets to assure the finest of

animal health care.

If she makes a breakthrough, it

will be to zoo ornithologists like

finding a cure for human cancer.

Research is also being done on

bone repair, viruses in ducks and

boa constrictors, and on the ef-

fects of antibiotics in exotic ani-

mals. Dr. Bush has also been de-

veloping a file of color slides of

the internal organs of birds, rep-

tiles|) and other animals made

with the aid of a 40-lens laparo-

scope, a long tubular device, in-

serted through a quarter-inch in-

cision to see internal organs.

The Zoo’s Office of Animal

Health is participating in a pio-

neering program to collect and

preserve semen from captive ani-

mals for artificial insemination.

Such a sperm bank would pre-

serve valuable gene lines and

make it possible to impregnate

animals that have breeding prob-

lems. Sometimes it is too expen-

sive and dangerous to ship a cap-

tive animal across the country or

the world to mate.

Taking care of animals is a kalei-

doscopic program that requires

curators, keepers, veterinarians,

painstaking research, sharing of

knowledge, and sophisticated

medical equipment.

Outpatient visits are not the norm, but staff hospital work does not stop just because a kangaroo hops in for a lunch of green vegetables.

BOOK\\\S

Best of Friends

The Best of Friends by John

Aspinall. Harper & Row. 159 pp.

$15.00

John Aspinall’s The Best of

Friends tells the story of two out-

standing wildlife parks, Howletts

and Port Lympne, which he oper-

ates in the English countryside.

Built on the sprawling acreage of

former country estates, these

parks give their exotic animal

residents more room than the

average zoo can hope to provide.

Aspinall’s colonies of gorillas and

tigers are among the finest in cap

tivity anywhere, and he has had

considerable success in breeding

these and other endangered

species.

Aspinall has a unique approach to

captive animal care. He believes

strongly in maintaining a personal

friendship with each of his ani-

mals — provided, of course, that

the animal is cooperative. He at-

tempts to communicate with his

animals in their own terms — in

their own language, so to speak.

Being the best of friends with exotic ani-

mals, whether romping with a tiger or

hugging a gorilla, characterizes the unusual

approach used by John Aspinall to improve

breeding at his private wildlife parks in

England.

As many excellent photographs in

this book show, he has learned to

romp with tigers and share em-

braces with gorillas.

But Aspinall confesses that as yet

he has not managed to remain on

friendly terms with a male gorilla

beyond the age of about twelve.

At that age, his male gorillas ap-

parently begin to view him as a

rival. He writes that he has even

tried assuming “the posture goril-

las use to indicate submissive-

ness,” but still he was not able to

convince mature males of his

good intentions.

The gorillas are clearly Aspinall’s

favorites, and he devotes a third

of his book to them. At Howletts,

he has built a vast “gorillarium,”

as he calls it, to house 16 of these

apes. The size of the gorillarium’s

cages allows Aspinall to keep gor-

illas together in larger groups than

most zoos can. Therefore, the

social milieu is similar to that of a

wild gorilla band.

“Gorillas have expressive eyes,”

Aspinall writes, ‘and the emo-

tional messages conveyed there-

by are strikingly similar to our

own. Rage— hatred —fear—love

— surprise — disappointment — all

are Clearly discernible to the prac-

ticed eye.” A purist might call this

anthropomorphism — the attribu-

tion of human traits to animals.

22

But gorillas are, after all, our

close relatives. In describing his

gorillas, Aspinall makes each of

them come alive as an individual

personality, without falsifying

their gorilla nature.

One well-delineated character is

Shamba, the dominant female. In

matters of food, Shamba tends to

be a little greedy. Once when the

author was in her sleeping quar-

ters, he casually handed some

food through the bars to another

female in an adjoining cage.

Shamba immediately showed her

jealousy with a barrage of angry

“barks.” Aspinall countered with

his own gorilla-style display of

anger. Then, he writes, “To my

amazement and delight she came

and embraced me with an overt

display of affection.” Another fe-

male, Mushie, has a very different

temperament. She always shows

great generosity, frequently giving

presents of food to Aspinall and

his daughters. |

The Best of Friends also describes

Aspinall’s experiences with tigers,

chimpanzees, elephants, and

other animals. The author tells of

several close friendships between

man and beast, as well as sudden

brushes with danger.

A former hunter who hunts no

more, Aspinall began keeping

wild animals as a hobby. He ad-

mits that he financed this rather

costly venture with gambling pro-

fits! Now, Aspinall has a staff of

professional keepers and a full-

time resident veterinarian.

The book’s final chapter contains

a plea for conservation inter-

mixed with the author’s out-

spoken opinions on everything

from Christianity to the value of

social change. Some readers may

not agree with his conclusions,

but they must admit it’s pure

Aspinall— blunt, honest, going his

own way whether anyone cares to

follow or not.

Austin Hughes

FONZNA\S

Zoo Sponsors

Animal Art Events

The Zoo, supported by FONZ,

will highlight the exciting world

of wildlife with ‘Sketch-Ins” and

special animal art exhibits from

November through January.

FONZ members and friends are

invited to come to the Zoo from

1 to 3 p.m. on the Sunday after-

noons of November 20, Decem-

ber 18, and January 15 to

sketch their own interpretation of

a favorite animal using the Zoo's

live models. All participants will

be given sketching materials.

Noted local artists will be sta-

tioned in designated areas to

assist as volunteer teachers.

Just as the Sketch-Ins are open to

all ages, beginning or experienced

artists, so will the potential sub-

jects of their art be all the animals

at the Zoo. Participants will be

encouraged to draw anything

they like—from the moated ele-

gance of Lion-Tiger Hill to the

plushness of a giraffe’s eyelashes.

There’s no guarantee that the ani-

mals will agree to strike a con-

venient pose and hold it for the

afternoon, but their inevitable

activity will give budding artists a

chance to capture their grace of

movement on paper.

The results of the three Sunday

Sketch-Ins will be on public dis-

play in the lobby area of the new

Education/Administration Build-

ing. Also exhibited will be the

works of the professional artists

who served as teachers.

The Zoo’s new trail and picto-

graph system, which uses dis-

tinctive graphics and animal foot-

prints to lead the way through the

167-acre park, will help partici-

pants quickly find the animal of

their choice. For those who pre-

fer to remain indoors, a continu-

ous slide/lecture presentation of

the art in the Park —from gar-

goyles to statues — is scheduled

in the auditorium.

“The Animal in Art” event is part

of a global effort by the World

Wildlife Fund to focus attention

and concern on wildlife, particu-

larly vanishing species.

Also in November, visitors to the

National Zoo will be able to en-

joy animals in art with the open-

ing of a remarkable exhibit, ‘The

Zoo in Miniature.” An array of

antique toy zoos, animals, and

arks, on loan from the Washing-

ton Dolls’ House and Toy Mu-

seum, will be displayed through

January in the Education/Admin-

istration Building.

The zoo world, traditionally as-

sociated with the joys of child-

hood, has always been a popular

subject for doll and toy makers.

The exhibit will include Victorian

toy zoos made of metal, wood,

and papier-mache, which docu-

ment with surprising detail just

what zoos of old looked like.

There are old-fashioned bear pits,

elephant riders, performing chim-

panzees, balloon vendors, flam-

boyantly-styled zoo’s from

India— complete with almond-

eyed animals —and even a collap-

sible cardboard zoo made 60

years ago.

The exhibit will also include the

toymaker’s many different and

colorful interpretations of Noah’s

Ark, which many consider man’s

first attempt to collect, house,

and save wild animals.

Also on display will be animal-

themed blocks, games, and puz-

zles made for children in Amer-

ica, Europe, and the Far East.

This collection includes a charm-

ing sectional bird, zoological

lotto games, intricate puzzles,

and a beanbag bear.

So come to the Zoo this winter

and discover the exciting world

of animals —in art as well as in

real life.

23