The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1881-07-09
Gradual Disappearance 'of"the Larger
Animals /" .f'"'!n u .

1.-The species among tho different
Glasses Of animals which exceed tnelr :
congeners in size are now more than
ever threatened with extern1lnat,on1..:
The progressive diniinution in Their
has been more rapid during, the
recent geological period because they
have had man as their competitor; and
the present age may be destined to w.t.
ness their entire dis.p peafa.nce: ln' con-
sentence of the new competition OPP
posed BY man, more formidable than
any other that the large animals have
had to meet, many s!'ecies have already
become extinct, and many Of THOSE
which are still represented among liy!TI|ps
beings are daily dimi nishing in numb9Is.
The animals comprising these syPeMeess'
being those +, which are hunte! hwllh
profit, or those the destruction OF wllch
is important for human security. arc Tor
these reasons inevitably, the most
exposed to be- driven from every
region in which the privileged being has
established his ABIDE. In the struggle
which they Have to sustain against the
new rivalry they labor under the Two
marked disadvantages,as compared with
smaller animals, that they require a
more abundant supply Of food and that
their reproduction is less frequent ana
more limited, so that the losses they en-
dure are hardly repaired The smaller
species keep up their numbers, and even
increase, in consequence of.thaIr ex'
treme fertility, in spite Of the most peri
sistent efforts Of man to eXter =! 2 .s
them. The larger animals would be
totally destroyed in a very.shott time
if they had to suffer the same proportion
of losses. Grlt is hardly rash to assert
that the whales, the caoh4Iots, the
Siren;de, the, morses,. ccsRr:ta certain y sRe-
cies Of. seals and otaries, the
great white bearr' OF the Arctic
Coasts, and the Other bears, tho large
csrnivorous cats. {liohs, tigers, etc. the
eorillas, the great armadillo, the gres'
ant-eater, the giraffes, the elan, the au'
rochs, Tho bisoaaA hs slepbansi'the nip
popotamuses, the rhinoceroses, the
great kangaroo, the elephanttne turtles
the crocodiles, the birds Of the OSTRICH
group, the great penguin Of the, frozen
sea, etc., are, threatened With, the tax
that has within . few centuries. -, bEeta % n
the enormous epiornis 81 Madagascar
the gigantic moas 81 New Zealand, and
| within less than two centuries the dodt
and the giant bird Of the Island 'of 1iau
ritins, the two latter species represent
ing the largest columbia and the tales "a
| waterfowl that have ever exlste!di;s :. In "A
great c;airinivora are already fast disap
bearing Before the bullets of emuiou!
lion and tiger honsers;H the whales ant
other larger mammalia are becoming
| scarce, j. The; largest ;ofi the deer, III
elan, is less widely distributed than a. t2SF
merly; the Largest Of ;Ylld catlR, ~ q
aurochs, which formerly ranged Qyera!
Europe, is now found only in the forest
of, lithuania and AOldavia, he'bis0nn
longer covers the 'prairies' with: bouno
less herds; the great armadillo 10 disep
pearingirom South 'Amstiba, and III
ateat kangaroo omtAustrAia ian
numbers of the other animals we hag
named are gradually diminishing, ;, II
time for science to be busy ,i9 ,eDmPsfaf'
ing the study of, these animals, ,befo!
some Of their species go o,join the Taps
of those which ara represented only 4
I fossils. LA Nat.Fe. l9n '>si 1'h'iN I,