The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1892-09-10
DIG GAME COINS.

DIG GAME CONS.
Tho determination OF Elephants
and Giraffes in Africa.
| An article by Mr.. Dryden in the
last proceedings of the British Zoo
logical Society says the days of the
giraffe are numbered. A few years
ago herds of 70 or so of them were
often met in various parts Of Africa
Dryden says that 19 giraffes are
now large herd. They have been
hunted 80 mercilessly, both by ma.
tive and foreign sportsmen, that
they are rapidly becoming extinct
The intelligent African King, Kah.
ma, has, however, taken the giraffe
under his protection and hopes to
save it from determination. He has
forbidden the hunting of the giraffe
in his large domain. and in this
way he hopes they will multiply in
his country. 1t is an interesting
fact that Russia has preserved the
European bison from extinction by
setting apart a forest in Lithuania
for them and permitting no one to
modest them.
It has been very generally be.
lieved, says writer in \ recent mum.
Der of the Great Divide, that the
bison has become practically ex.
tinct, but that belief does not ap-
pear to be borne out by facts. Not
very long ago Captain Anderson
sent out Burgess, the civilian scout
attached to the post in the National
or Yellowstone Park in Wyoming,
to make a journey south ofthe Hay
den Valley. The purpose of the
trip was to see whether any signs o1
poachers could be found and also
incidentally to discover what could
be learned as to the game in the
open country to the south. The
scout has lately returned and made
his report, which is to the effect
that there is an abundance of elk
in the Hayden Valley, but it is in
respect to the bison that his dis
coveries are most encouraging. In
the Hayden Valley he saw and
approached quite close to several
herds of bison, which he counted,
One of these contained IS animals,
a second so, a third ITO and a
fourth s15. Besides these, several
single bisons were seen, and, at
quite q distance, some other scat
tering .groupes which could not be
counted. Mr.. Burgess does not hes
itate to say that he saw fully 500
animals.
1t is not to be supposed that at
the time of this visit anywhere near
all the bison in the park were col
lected in the Hayden Valley, and it
is altogether reasonable to believe
that there are a1OO and perhaps 800
other buffalo in the park besides
those which Mr.. Burgess saw. TAX
ing, however, the lowest number,
there would be 400 buffaloes in the
National Park at the present time.
This is believed to be a conservative
estimate and to be considerably un-
der the truth. These bisons are to
be divided into six classes-calves,
yearlings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds,
bulls and cows. This would give
US, at the lowest estimate, from SO
to 20 breeding cows. While all
these cows may not produce calves
each year, they must represent an
annual increase Of least 36 to 40
head. This is taking the most un-
favorable view of the number of
COWS and the rate at which they
breed. Mr.. Burgess is entirely dis
posed to think that the calf crop
among the bisons Of the National
Park this year will be from rs to
100 animals. However this may
be, it is quite clear that there is in
the National Park, living under en-
tirely natural conditions and yet
protected from attacks by man, a
breeding stock of bisons sufficiently
large to keep that reservation fully
stocked for all time, a condition
which cannot fail to be very grati-
Magazine.