CHAPTER VIII
ZOOLOGISK HAVE, COPENHAGEN
The Zoological Garden in Copenhagen was founded in 1859 by Dr. Kjaerblling. It is a quaint Garden, situated by the side of a large park. On paying fifty ore to a pretty girl (the first pretty girl I had seen in Denmark) at the entrance, I found myself opposite a large duck-pond with little islands in it, upon which were placed boxes for the birds to build their nests in. Close by the side of the pond was a model in plaster of the huge Dinosaurus iguanodon, a kangaroo-like reptile long ago extinct, a skeleton of which is to be seen in the Brussels Museum.
Near a large restaurant was placed an ingeniously constructed seal tank, like an aquarium, with a thick plate-glass front to enable one to see the creature swimming about below the surface of the water. It was amusing to watch it sitting bolt upright, with its tail resting on the bottom of the tank, and its nose and eyes just above the surface of the water.
Next came a pair of water-buffalo and their baby, and an American bison. In the centre of the Garden was a pheasant pen, and a very large aviary with trees growing in it, upon the top of which herons built their nests. There were many duck and fowl aviaries, some of the latter having curious little houses with ponds in front of them. There was a small cats’ house, which smelt abominably. This, however, is unavoidable, containing as it does foxes, civets, polecats, wild cats, servals, porcupines, wolves, jackals and two sorts of hyænas. There was a lion house with outside cages, containing a pair of lions, a pair of tigers, leopards, jaguars and a puma (the latter always growling). Another house contained a very miscellaneous collection—some goats, a pair of Shetland ponies, a magnificent cassowary (very tame), a tapir, some Brahma cattle, some wild boars, a lot of guinea-pigs, a crane, two dorcas gazelle, two muntjacs, an enormous zebra, and a tiny donkey.
All the trees and shrubs in this Garden were extraordinarily backward; scarcely a leaf was out, and as it poured with rain during the whole of my visit of five hours, the outlook could scarcely be called pleasing to the eye.
There was a small house of flamingoes and storks, and in an elephant house were a small Indian elephant and a troupe of performing dogs and monkeys. Here Herr Litz, the celebrated trainer, was performing with a various assortment of animals. In the deer sheds were a pair of cariboo, with a baby a few weeks old, some axis and some wapiti deer.
There were several bird-of-prey aviaries, and in them some beautiful Iceland falcons. A second elephant house contained an enormous Indian elephant. A fine new series of bear pits in red brick was in course of construction. But the best house in the Garden was a really good and new monkey house, very lofty and roomy, with huge plate-glass fronts. In one of the compartments was a young Himalayan bear, together with several monkeys. The outside cages of this house contained trees, ropes, swings, a windmill and a rocking-horse for the amusement of the apes. Altogether I consider this one of the finest and best-appointed monkey houses in Europe.
On the top of what looked like a factory chimney a pair of storks had built their nest in the open air. A house for tropical small birds contained an enormous number of paroquets, and close by was a quaint cone-shaped owl house, with outside and inside cages. There were wild-sheep rockeries, wolves’ dens, and another pond, besides many smaller houses.
This Garden is well worth a visit.