The times., 1899-03-22
Big GAME OF AFRICA
Fast DISAPPEARING
Vanishing Before the March
Of Civilization.
Many Animals Peculiar to the Con-
tinent Nearly Ex met
Slaughter of the EIephnnts-The
Hippopotamus. Giraffe, and
Zebra Almost Gone.
lFmm the london standards

vancing civilization is truism. The
slaughter of the African fauna. however,
has been so great and SO purposeless that,
could the story Of the last hundred years
be told in all its fullness, ii would appear
incredible.
Naturally, the elephant claims first place.
1t is still fairly abundant in Central Africa,
but in South Africa where it formerly
swarmed, it is rapidly approaching extinc-
tion.
Oswell, the friend of Livingstone, who
first visited Africa on hunting expedition
in 1874. has told the story, all too briefly,
of his experiences, and expressed the opin-
ion that to our great-great- grandchildren
the African elephant will be as the man.
moth is TO u.s. Kirby clothes the same
opinion in almost identical language, and.
after urging that the past, which. cannot
be recalled. should induce sportsmen to
shoot fairly, and be satisfied with enough,
is justly severe on those who deliberately
bowl over ewes and cows with the one
idea of topping the record. The traffic
in ivory means the extinction of the ele-
phant; but to kill an elephant for its tusks
seems the worst possible use to which one
can put such mighty beast. Sir Samuel
Baker pleaded for protection, and still
more strongly that some attempt should
be made to domesticate the African ele-
phant, condemning the apathy even of Eu-
ropean settlers, who have hitherto ignored
the capabilities of this useful creature
When the late Sultan of Zanzibar visited
our Geological Gardens, and saw Jumbo
carrying loads of delighted children, he
asked why these animals were not utilized
In his own country. The late Mr.. Bartlett
was always interested in the subject, and
advocated, as does Mr. Sclater, the Secre-
tary of the Geological Society. the bring
ing over Of trained Indian elephants, and
natives used to keddah work, to East Af-
rica. Gordon, too, hoped TO employ the
elephant in transport in Africa, and, short
ly before the fall of Khartoum, wrote to
Mr.. Sciater on the subject. In Cape Colony
the elephant has been protected since 1880.
a permit being necessary TO kill single
specimen; there is also a measure of pro-
lection in the East Africa Protectorate, and
In German East Africa, where permit for
two elephants and two rhinoceroses costs
ELS
The hippopotamus appears to be extinct
in Natal where the last specimen, fine
old bull, now in the Durham Museum, was
killed about twelve months ago, the. gov
ernment having consented to the exter-
mination of the small herd living in Sea
Cow Lake, a small lagoon near Durham,
on account of the damage they did in the
sugar-cane plantations. The few that still
remain in Zululand are all that are left
| in British South Africa. Rhinoceroses,
| too. are becoming scarce. and the white,
or square -mouthed, form is practically ex-
| tinct In 1886 fifteen were killed, and in
| the following year Selous saw the tracks
| of two or three. Writing in 1898, that
famous hunter said that, twenty years
| before it was a common animal over an
| enormous extent of country in Central
| South Africa. In the same year Mr.. CO.
| ryndon obtained two specimens, one CT
/ which went 10 the British Museum tNatu-
raj History and the other to Walter
Rothschild's museum at Tring.
There is a sad tale to tell about the
antelopes CORVALLIS Harris hunted in
/ South Africa late in the "thirties,' and,
describing the game on tract near the
Vaal River, in the Orange Free State. he
SAYS: THE number of wild animals on
this swampy fiat almost realized the fable
the roads made by their incessant tramI
resembling SO many well-traveled high
ways. At every step incredible herds o1
bontebucks, blesbucks. and springbucks
with troops of gnus and squadrons of the
common or stripeless quagga, were per-
forming their complicated evolutions; and
not infrequently a knot of ostriches, decket
in their white plumes, played the part o
general officer and staff with such strc
propriety as further to remind the spec
tator of a cavalry review" The blesbucl
is now so scarce that Ii can be hardly
reckoned a beast of chase; and Mr.. Bryder
says that the scant remnants of the one,
innumerable herds are living on a few
farms in the Orange Free State and the
Transvaal, under the care of Boer farmers
The experiment is an extremely interesting
one-and others of the same kind are be
ing carried on Mr.. Dryden points ou
that within the next few years we shal
know whether this antelope is to be res
cued from utter extinction, or is doomed
to vanish miserably from the face of tn,
earth. The bontebuck is, perhaps, wors,
OFF as regards numbers; for there remain,
but a single herd, living, strictly pre-
served in the south of Cape Colony. TIL,
numbers of the springbuck have, indeed
diminished, but it may still be said to b,
fairly abundant in South Africa, thanks t.
the protection afforded it in Cape Colony
the Orange Free State, and the Trans
vaal.
Whte-tailed gnus are rapidly reaching
vanishing point, though one writer ol
popular natural history recently declare
in print that they wander about in herd
of from eight or ten to forty" and tha
hunters find out their lairs and shoe
them in order to eat their flesh, whcl
is dried and made into what the Beers cal
biltong." Nevertheless, it is safer to ac
cept the account given of this antelop
1 T.
in a wild condition but preserved in tn
Orange Free State, where some six or sever
hundred head are living on the lands o
Dutch farmers.
The true hartebeest is practically exter
minated in the Orange Free State and il
the TransvaaI though it is abundan; il
Bechuanaland: and II is from this fin
antelope that the Chief Khama takes hi
name The Gland, the largest and fines
of the antelopes, lives on, but in great!
diminished numbers. When Lord Derby i'm
ported his herd into England in 1910. grea
things were hoped in the way OF providing
new meat, from the acclimatiZation o
this animal The hopes have been disap
pointed, but it certainly ought to be pos
sible to domesticate this animal in Africa
The giraffe is rapidly approaching exter
mination south of the Zambesi.
The quagga, the most horselike of th'
striped asses. is "as absolutely extinct a
the dodo." The last specimen exhibited
alive in England was presented to th
Geological Gardens in 1858. Just cen
tury ago Barrow. in his Travels" CAV
glowing description of its good qualities
which should have insured its preservation
He wrote of il as well shaped and stroni
limbed, not in the least vicious, but, ol
the contrary soon rendered by domestica
tion mild and tractable. He goes on L
speak of the abundance of quaggas We
few, he says, have given themselves tn
trouble OF turning them to any kind o
use This is the more to be regrette
since the Quagga was fully as strong as
and infinitely more beautiful than, tn
mule, as easily supported on almost an
kind of food, and never out of flesh. l.
the early part of this century a pair c
1,,. ak,nnt nm