Nugae hibernicae : the Dublin lions.

  • Zoophilus.
Date:
[1876]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Nugae hibernicae : the Dublin lions. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    7wv K 4^', / pu**’ / c v btlr.ll>, ISW. \ N U G.E H J BE R N I C zE. -%- „ . a'V / I.—Tiie DuBl5i$r** -■ The breeding of lions was undertaken in the Dublin Gardens in the year 1857—the stock selected being the South African lion, from a single pair of which, wdth an occasional dash of outside blood, the Dublin Gardens succeeded in breeding, during the space of sixteen years, ninety two lions, of which seventy-one reached maturity. This remarkable result, unparalleled in the records of lion-breeding, is attri- buted by the managers of the Dublin Zoological Gardens to their supe- rior skill in feeding the lions, which are believed in Dublin to owre their fecundity to the occasional use of “boiled potatoes”, which, in the opinion of many Irish women, are believed to be efficacious in con- ferring offspring upon a barren woman. From my experience of lion- breeding, I should be disposed to say that “ Pat” and “ Biddy” have something to do with the result as well as the potatoes ; for I find that of the ninety-two cubs horn in the Gardens, a single lioness produced fifty-four, of which she reared fifty, losing only four, or 8 per cent., in- stead of the average 23 per cent. The following table contains the particulars of the breeding, distinguishing the sexes. Tabic of Lions Bred and Born in the Dublin Zoological Gardens from 1857 to 1873. No. of Litter. No. in each Litter. Sex. Date of Birth. , f ff— Male. Female. 1 I O 1 n'K 1857 11 4 2 2 September 20th, 1858 in 5 4 X September 8th, 1859 IV 4 1 3 May 18th, i86r V 3« I 2 December 7th, 1861 VI 4 4 0 May 30th, 1862 VII Sb 0 3 July i8tb, 1862 VIII 4 I 3 August 3rd, 1863 IX 4C I 3 September 5th, 1863 X S April 2nd, 1864 XI 5^ -r - tt April 3rd, 1864 xir 4 2 2 October 3rd, 1866 XIII s 2 3 June 16th, 1867 XIV 5 I January 4th, 1868 X V V 5/ 2 3 August 5th, 1868 XVI 5 S 3 2 April 18th, 1869 XVII 3* I 2 May 24th, 1869 XVIII 6l 4 2 February 12th, 1870 XIX 4 O October 9th, 1870 XX B 2 2 September 18th, 1871 x.x( 3m 2 I March 10th, 1872 XXII 3* 2 I December 23rd, 1872 XXIII 2 0 2 October 23rd, 1873 Summary 0%foregoing Table. 1. Period of observation ... ... ... ... ... 16 years. 2. Total number of litters... ... ... ... ... 23 3. Total number of cubs—male, 43 ; female, 39 ... 92 /(] l/l*i 4. Total number dying young, under 3 to 4 months ... 21 5. Juvenile mortality per cent 23 per ct., or less than one-fourth. In my next communication, I hope to furnish some interesting par- ticulars concerning individual lions and lionesses of the foregoing family, whose habits and private character have been made by me a subject of special study. Zoophilus. a. Born prematurely ; one dead, the others died next day. b. One died September 1st, 1862 ; had been weakly from birth. c. One bom dead. d. One died soon after birth e. Two males died within their first week after birth. f. One died soon after birth. £- One female cub was either bom dead, or died immediately after birth.