The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 44

1 f. KING tig JMUPtt? 4 -J At4 Some scientists hold that the whale is king of all animal or mammal life because of its gigantic size. Here Is an airplane photograph of one shown going at top speed through the water Reign of the Lion Questioned by Trio of Distinguished American Scientists as They Bring Forward Candidates to Dispute the Leadership of Leo in Matters of Strength, Ability in Combat, Speed, Courage and Value to Mankind .1 a 0 Sift's' s5, The lion is usually called the king that he can be quite cowardly, and he is greater time and risk with the swifter antelope and powerful buffalo. Few animals, Dr. Mann believes, can lay claim to more courage than the little-known dhole, or wild dog, of India.

Probably he Is the only creature of far Inferior size and strength that dares to chase and kill the terrible tiger or outfight the sharp-tusked boar. Never does he give up the fight to his larger adversary, but endures until death comes to either partici pant. Yet the dhole is a seemingly shy and quiet animal, only about as large as a small greyhound. Another canine, nately little known to mcst of Us, is the vicious Mongolian dog, which rates among the most dangerous animals to man. Ray Chapman Andrews, noted explorer, says it is the most-feared animal in Mongolia.

Since natives lsave most cf their dead exposed, this beast has acquired a bloodthirsty appetite for human flesh. Which is the fastest-running animal on the long stretch? Andrews claims that the antelope of the Gobi Desert can run at almost incredible speed. One time Andrews decided to prove this belief for once and all, so he got into his motorcar, stepped on the gas till the machine was going forty miles an hour and raced a large herd of antelope. He was left far in the rear, which meant. he says, that the fleet creatures must have been averaging between fifty-five and sixty miles an hour, On the other hand, Dr.

Remington Kellogg, of the National Museum, be The leopard is held by Dr. Mann to be the fastest charger in the jungle and probably could defeat a lion In close quarters Nevertheless, the ancients did not. modern scientists have evidence to believe, hold this huge creature in such great awe. but oftentimes lured him into man-made holes in the ground and then killel him the superrtreae'rought of prehistoric life, the monarch that held sway in the Asiatic plains some 10,000,000 years ago, termed in scientific lore the "ba-luchitherium," was chiseled from hi rocky tower several years ago by Mr. Andrews in the Gobi Desert.

Ifyou choose to Judge the present-day leaders of the animal kingdom by their value to man. then don't forget the fur-bearing creatures, urges Dr. Clark. Truly the romance of furs Is one of the most thrilling chapters in all the annals of trade. Furthermore, furs have played an important role in exploration's history.

St. Louis, within only a 600-mile radius of the world's once greatest fur-producing area, owes its founding to the earlj French traders, who established a station -on the site in 1764. Trappers and traderi from the St. Louis station opened up a large part of- Northern and Western United States. Long before he "Forty-niners" crosr the plains, the rtench reached what is now the State of Utah, where they learned that Canadian traders had already been active in that region.

Russian trappers crossed the bleak expanse of Siberia to Kamchatka in quest of furs and then pushed on to Alaska Furs and gold have vied in opening up what is now Alaska. But gold booms have come and gone. Fur trading and trapping have continued, and today two little islands of the Pribilof group, in the Bering send $800,000 orth of seal and blue-fox turs to the St. Louis fur marKet annually. What single animal has the most valuable pelt? Demand and supply play an ever-changing role in determining this, but.

according to Dr. Mann, probably the Russian sable leads. This is one of the smaller pelts, found in Japan, Siberia and Asiatic Russia, but It affords one of the most-sought-after furs of modern times. One reason is its almost perfect texture, color and appearance. Another reason is that to catch the Russian sable involves tremendous hardship, time and treble.

ASIDE from the fur-bearing beasts, which wild animal is most useful to man in the sense that it puts most money in the world's pocketbook? Surely the whale, replies Cr. Kellogg. For whaling has emerged from man's most glamorous and adventurous form of hunting to the status of an exceedingly big business. And this big, booming business involves corralling the biggest animal the world has ever known, roving over the vastest "pastures" the world affords, pastures that range from the Bering Sea to the Straits of Magellan, from Spitzbergen to the Bay of Whales, last airplane ports of call for the North and South Poles. Unfortunately, points out Dr.

Kellogg, this great flow of money can't keep up Indefinitely, for the mighty whale Is being exterminated far more rapidly than it can breed. No longer is it commercially profitable to hunt the sea king in haunts which not so long ago were favorites for the world's fishermen: along the New England coast, Sulu Sea, Solander grounds and off Spitzbergen. What Is the most destructi'e wild animal? Dr. Kellogg gives what seems at first to be a curious answer to this questionthe Norway or house rat. which exists in countless millions throughout th world.

It is as wild as any animal which inhabits the juigles. Dr. Kellogg believes, and not only is it notorious for ruthless destruction but also as a carrier of the dread bubonic plague. One of the queerest of the rare mammals Is the Australian platypus. It has a bill like a duck; has fur Instead of feathers, lays eggs and.

yet nurses its young. The chief difficulty in trying to keep the platypus In confinement lies in providing the creature with Its usual diet. This Is out of the question, for it eats special ainds of worms, water Insects and tiny mollusks found in abundance only In its native habitat. Then there is the okapl, really a kind of antelope and supposed to be the only living relative of the jiraffe. although It lacks the characteristic elongated legs and neck.

Dr. Mann says he knows of only one okapi lodged In any zoo. and that is at Antwerp. c3 At of beasts, yet many observers hold fights only when he has to or when hungry lieves that the whale could outspeed all other creatures if he were allowed to swim through the water while alongside on lan the fastest antelopes were urged to do their best. The whale, of course, leads the pack in one important sense it is the largest animal known.

The African elephant, the world's largest land animal, is In comparison a child's idea of a sizable creature, even though it sometimes reaches a height of twelve feet and weighs up to nine tons. It Is hard even lor an adult who had never seen one to comprehend the enormous size of a whale. Mr. Andrews made exact measurements of one specimen. It was seventy-eight feet long and eighed si -three tons, the equivalent of a hundred steers or threescore limousines of fairly heavy type.

Its bones alone equal the weight of the eight-ton winter's coal supply for a small hquse. Its flesh tipped the scales at forty tons, it yielded eight tons of blubber, and the blood, viscera and whalebone, or baleen, made up the uther se en tons. Jowever. there are far larger whales than this particular one. The blue whale in the Antarctic areas reaches a length up to 106 feet.

say4 Dr. Kellogg. WHICH animal led all In ancient times? Henry Fairfield Osborn. naturalist of the American Museum of Natural History, points out that the romance of the woolly mammoth traces back for thousands and maybe hundreds cf thousands of years to the time when men of the old Stone" Age founl that 3 Ivory tusks were superior to bone. Its curving, sharp-tipped tusks were a1 great measure of protection to the herd and in personal combat.

The oeast ranged almost -exclusively north ot the fortieth parallel, was abundant In Alaska and later entered whast Is now America. The trunk was well "developed and the skin extraordinarily thick, with soft hair an Inch long, and coarser, longer hair sometimes twenty inches long around neck and trunk. Under the skin was a layer of fat about Ihree and one-half inches deep rather good protection! 7 ft" The African elephant is given first ranking by Dr. William M. Mann.

director of the National Zoological Park, D. C. than an ox, he fights In furious rage with sturdy horns strong enough to resist the ordinary bullet. Which Is faster on the charge, the lion or tiger? Opinions differ, but Information that dates long before the Christian Era states that in the great animal fights staged in mammoth-sized sta-diums for popular approval the tiger usually However, Dr. Mann believes that the "leopard Is faster on the charge than either tiger or lion But can the latter beast, with this far greater strength, defeat the leopard? Probably he could in close quarters like cage, believes Dr Mann; but the chances are that in an open field, where the leopard could utilics his superior speed to greater advantage, he would give a far better account of himself.

Dr. Mann pointed out that courage, as generally applied to the lion, or in- i Ww, J. 1 The wild dog of Mongolia is held to be the fiercest and most feared by many natives of Asia 1eed to any ferocious wild beast, is usually exaggerated. The truth is that 'he same lion may be a coward at one lme and extremely brave at another When hungry or wounded, hell fight furiously, but he's rather lazy, which ex- plains why he ordinarily tends to at- tack unarmed human beings such as women and children rather than take 4if3B' i IX TT HICH animal is faster on the charge than either the lion or the tiger? For sheer strength and ability in combat, which is the most ferocious animal? Who among Noah's Ark denizens wins the palm for courage? Which is the fastest "speed demon" in the animal kingdom? What is the most destructive of all animals? Which has the most valuable pelt? Which animal is most useful to man? Herein find the answer and read the formidable list of entries to challenge the lion as king of the jungle and leader of the pack. By James Nevin Miller 'Xb' ALL tre beaats whic.

roam the Und or swim ine Seven Ceas, wh? one io king? Or is this reputed supremacy, usually claimed for the lion, challenged by various animals when you consider courage, speed on the charge or long run, danger to other animal3 and man, strength and ability In single combat, value man, destructlvenesa to the world's goods? Many and varied are the answers to these questions, given from time to time by explorers, naturalists and self-styled scientists: But now, for the first time, the authoritative Judgments three Government animal experts are Dr. William M. Mann, director the National Zoological Parh, Washington; Dr. Remington Kellogg, assistant curator of mammals, National Museum, and Austin H. Clark, of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

Certainly the African lion, with his head up while charging his prey, looks more like the traditional jungle monarch than perhaps any other beast, Dr. Mann says. But for sheer strength and ability In single combat, the famous animal expert picks the African bull elephant. True, he ordinarily fights with no animals save his own kind, but he can hold his own with the most ferocious lion. It is when woundeu that the elephant is most formidable.

Dr. Mann explains Charging with terrific speed at his foe. he crashes through the heaviest forest. Proof cf the awe which the African elephant Inspires lies In the fact that at his merest approach the giraffe sways his long neck in terrifl-f fashion, the zebra utters plaintive cries of fear and sometimes even the quarrelsome black rhino makes his characteristic short and dashes away. Then, too, there Is considerable doubt.

Dr. Mann and the other Government experts agree, that the lion would 'win In single combat with the East African water buffalo. Here Indeed is a terrible animal Black in color and a trifle larger 5.