| West of the Antelope House of the Bronx Zoo mammals exhibition, a short path connects directly with the Small Deer House (49 on map), where another carefully designed building with outdoor corrals takes care of the more delicate species of deer unfitted for open ranges, the smaller African antelopes, the various tropical swine, the kangaroos and in winter the tropical mountain sheep and goats.
Many interesting species of mammals from India are here represented, including the muntjac deer, the sasin antelope, the four-horned antelope and the dainty Indian gazelle. From Mexico and South America, the black-faced brocket and the Sinaloa white-tailed deer are of particular interest be-cause of their unusually simple horns.
Near the northern entrance to the Small Deer House of the Bronx Zoo is the Prairie Dog Village (41 on map), where about one hundred fat little prairie marmots from Montana dodge in and out of their burrows, indulge in joyful squeals and prove generally entertaining.
Leaving these on the right and proceeding westward, the next enclosure is that of the white-fronted musk-ox (48 on map). This strange-looking animal from the arctic regions belongs to neither the cattle nor the sheep family but stands in a genus of its own midway between. The Park has a herd of six specimens.
A barn and corral, adjoining the musk-ox, houses the Rocky Mountain goat. This animal, accustomed to great heights and a rarefied atmosphere, is difficult to keep in captivity, but has been successfully established here on a breeding basis. Enclosures to the west and south contain groups of Virginia deer.
At the right of the path by the Musk-ox Enclosure, the visitor at the Bronx Zoo mammals exhibition will observe a large pond extending northward. This is the Wild Fowl Pond, where the ducks and geese breed in the grass and underbrush on the east bank and bring their broods to the water when hatched. Here, besides the mallard, pintail, gadwall, rosy-billed duck, black duck, lesser scaup duck and other ducks of America, may be seen the paradise sheldrake of Australia, the ruddy sheldrake of the Mediterranean, the Chinese mandarin duck and others. The geese include the snow goose, Cereopsis goose and barnacle goose.
An old fable, still believed by many European peasants, especially in Ireland, is that the barnacle or bernicle goose is born from the stalked barnacles that adhere to driftwood on the sea coast, and circumstantial accounts have been given of the young developing in and escaping from the barnacle shells. The name "bernicle," like brant, refers to the burnt or black color of the birds, but the barnacles were really named after the bird, not the bird after the crustacean.
The Pheasant Aviary (40 on map) faces the Wild Fowl Pond at its southern end. In this building and its runways is housed one of the finest collections of true pheasants in the world.
Each species has for use at all times an open yard, a storm shelter and a closed room with a large window, and owing to the shy and retiring habits of some of the birds it may be necessary to visit the aviary more than once in order to see them all. Some of the most beautiful birds in the collection are the golden and silver pheasants of China, now acclimatized successfully in British Columbia and in Oregon, the Amherst pheasant, the beautiful Soemmering or copper pheasant of Japan, the Impeyan pheasant of India and the exceedingly rare Mongolian pheasant of Turkestan. Above each of the pheasant enclosures a roomy dovecote provides for a collection of pigeons, with-out interfering with the pheasant runs below.
The steps at the left of this aviary lead to the Camel House (39 on the Bronx Zoo map), where the two-humped or Bactrian camel may be ridden by visitors in the winter time. In summer he sheds his coat and is not in his best form.
The Llama House adjoins the Camel House on the north and exhibits the llama, alpaca, guanaco and vicuna of South America, animals related to the camel family, but smaller and without a hump, and valued largely for their wool.
Behind the Llama House, in an extensive range containing a small lake, is a beautiful herd of the white-tailed Virginia deer.
To the right of the Llama House one may overlook the Wild Fowl Pond and descend to investigate the cages of the otter and of the odd coypu rat of Central and South America, which abut on the Pond near the center of its western bank. The totem pole and house of the Tlingit Indians. of Cape Fox, Alaska, presented to the Park by the late Mr. E. H. Harriman, are also in sight from this point.
The Indian hangul deer and Florida white-tailed deer adjoin the llamas on the north, followed by the Elk House and corrals, in a range behind which (21 on map) appears a fine herd of American elk, or wapiti, except the moose the largest member of the deer family and of all American deer the most easily reared in captivity.
To the right of the Elk Range, down a short hill, are the Dens of the Wolves and Foxes, occupying the slope of a natural ridge or rock. Here are the gray wolf, the coyote, the rare Tasmanian wolf, the red fox, and the dingo or wild dog, but several of the foxes have been found to thrive better in the Burrowing Animals' Quarters.
Go To Next Page |
