Page:The Scientific Monthly vol. 3.djvu/405

 CONSERVATION OF THE NATIVE FAUNA 399

��THE CONSEEVATION OP THE NATIVE FAUNA

Bt waltbb p. taylob

VUBBUK OF TSBXBBBAZB ZOOLOGY, UMIYIBSITT OF CALIFOBNIA

THE ascendancy of man has been accompanied by certain inevitable changes and readjustments in nature. Probably the most con- spicuous of these changes is that brought about by the cutting down of forests. Almost as conspicuous^ and perhaps even more worldwide in distribution^ are those changes resultant upon the destruction of the native fauna^ and particularly of birds and mainmals. In practically every country of every continent where formerly the "wild flocks and herds held sway/' man has crowded out or thoughtlessly destroyed the resident animals until the problem of the preservation of representative faunas is coming to be one of the important concerns both of zoologists and governments in widely separated localities. With this as the back- ground^ it now becomes peculiarly desirable to trace the recent history of some of the more important species, limiting ourselves perforce to a few members of one of the great classes in a geographic area of limited extent.

Perhaps there is no more favorable unit in which to carry on our study than that comprised within the boundaries of California. Char- acterized not only by comparatively great area, but also by climatic features ranging from almost subtropical to boreal, and by a topography of almost infinite variety, it is small wonder that California possesses a mammal list including 369 different species or subspecies, as compared with 80 for Kansas,^ 94 for Nebraska,* 152 for Colorado," and 182 for Texas.*

Obviously the species likely to be in greatest danger everywhere are the game species, plus those species against which a public prejudice exists for one reason or another, and those species which, through the fur trade or otherwise, enter into the world's commerce.

Although it must be admitted that much of her inheritance has passed away, there is still plentiful evidence to indicate that California possessed an early fauna of such generous abundance as to justify according her a place among the big game countries of the world.

What are the specific items? Of the smaller fur-bearing species

iSwenk, "Nebraska Blae Book,'' 1915, p. 836.

2 The same, pp. 851-^55.

< Csjj, U. S. Dept. Agric, Bureau Biol. Surv., N. Amer. Fauna, 33, 1911, pp. 51-211.

4 Bailey, TJ. S. Dept. Agrie., Biol. Surv., N. Amer. Fauna, 25/ 1905, pp. 51-216.

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