Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-07-24
SAVING FLAM|NGO /
FROM EXTINCTION
Letter From Bahamas Tells
of Moving Picture Expedi-
ton in Marshes.

Assurance that the hamingo. bird
extinction is contained in a letter
received by John Oliver La Force. vice
director of the National Geographic
Society. from H. Z. w. Grant, colonial
governor of the Bahamas. which says:
You will be glad to hear that an
order in council has been passed Civ
ing complete protection to the
damingo. This glory of our marshes
owes your expedition debt of
gratitude"
The action of the Bahamas council
was taken following an expedition
which trailed the famingo. the most
beautiful of the worlds larger birds.
to it's last stand, took motion pic
lures of the timorous birds. brought
about a realization of how near they
were to becoming extinct in the new
world through humiliation by native
sponge fishermen. who hunted them
down for food purposes at the nesting
and molting season.
Located In 1891.
The first American naturalist to To-
cate and study the gorgeous flamingo
was DR.. Frank NJ. Chapman. in 1901,
when he estimated that some 10000
flamingoes were to be found on one
of the little known islands of the Ba-
hamas group. Since then. it is be-
lieved. fully two-thirds of the colo
MES have persisted.
The expedition that spent ten days
in the abysmal salt swamps of Andres
Island. filming the namingo ana
studying his habitat for scientific
purposes. was sent out by the Miami
Aquarium Association. and the per-
sonnet of the party included James A.
Allison. president of the association
Carl G. Fisher. it's vice president:
|
bird life expert: Norman McClintock.
naturalist and bird photographer;
Louis L. Mowbray. technical director
of the Miami Aquarium: Charles Har-
rison Thompson. Florida hunter ana
fish expert: John H. Levi and John
Oliver La Gorce. observation-disclosures
of the Aquarium Association and vice
director of the National Geographic
Society.
EApache, Mr.. Allison's yacht. was
the mother ship of the expedition,
and the express cruiser. Shadow v.
was used as scout boat. Canvas
canoes were taken along to get into
the shallow salt creeks and nose
! into the lagoons for deep entrances to
the murky swamps where the ia
mingo hides. A Bahama guide. Peter
Bannister. who had aided Dr. Chap
mans party nineteen years ago. also
went with the party.
After penetrating to the utmost
udNlSdDfc pOfnlS Will Tie CdHOCo ~
was necessary to traverse miles OF
the "swash" or tidal mari marshes.
carrying the heavy cameras and mo-
tion picture machines, in search for
the birds. Wading in the water up to
the waist, knee deep in the mari
mud. was the daily program. while
binding swarms of mosquitoes COM
PEELED nightly retreats to LApache,
anchored several miles offshore.
But the hardships found a worthy
colonies of several hundred birds.
described by Mr.. La Gorce as "a
flaming mass of brilliant scarlet
bodies. Jet black beneath the huge
wings. with their long. slender necks
gracefully lowering and raising their
| Roman nosed heads as they sought
beneath the water the tiny spiral
shell. known to scientists as 'ceri-
thium.' upon which the flamingo lives
exclusively in its native habitat.
Other Rare Birds and Fish.
The expedition gathered much val
liable scientific material. not only
concerning the life habits of the
namineo but OF other rare birds and
fish of the Bahamas The isolation
of the fiamingo may be sensed from
the fact that the members of ths
party were the first white men to
years. Mangrove Key is a small
flamlet. presided over by crown
commission. the only visible sign OF
British authority to be found on an
iajand ninety miles long and forty
Wide Because Of this isolation many
Of the little known -out isfands' of
the Bahamas, only now and then
visited by the sponge fishers. have
preserved primitive conditions that
hold secrets of high value to the
naturalist.
Both Colonial Gov. Grant and r. c.
Wells -Durant. colonial secretary of
the Bahamas extended every cour-
tesy and assistance and were deeply
interested in the results of the ex-
petition. especially of the discovery
which pointed to the threatened ex-
tinction of the flamingo. The Ba-
hama law has protected the fiamingo
for fifteen years. but the habitat of
the bird is so far from settlements
that little attention has been paid
to the menace of the spongers. The
party found spongers in the act OF
killing the birds. and government
Official swore in Bannister, the negro
guide. the only English subject pres
ent as a deputy game warden. and
thus brought about the first arrest
of the kind ever made.