Evening star., 1928-04-12
SKUNK LEADS WILD
LIFE LAWMAKERS
Rabbits Run Second in Auto
mobile Animal Destruction,
Deer Frequent Offenders.

other DaQ QUALITIES tAlaL III peiIlH
persistent jay-walker.
This was brought out before thu
American Society of Mammologists
meeting at the National Museum thi.
morning by Albert r. Shade Of the
University OF Buffalo.
Speaking of the automobile as a de-
stroyer of wild life, Mr.. Shade sale
that several accounts of creatures lying
dead along the auto highways show
that skunkS constitute about so pei
cent of the fatalities. Rabbits are q
poor second in the jay-walking class
furnishing only l6 per cent OF the
fatalities.
In the West. however, the California
Jack rabbit hold the records, according
TO DR.. C. Hart Merriam, and roads are
strewn with the bodies of hundreds OF
these creatures. The jack rabbit. DR.
Merriam said. is blinded by the lights
of car and simply stands still ir
the middle of the road.
Deer Follow the Leader.
Deer used TO be bad jay walkers, DR.
Merriam said, because of their tendency
to follow the leader. The herd will start
across a road in single file, and the
motOriSt Is almost sure to hit one oil
them unless he comes 10 q complete
stop.
An operation on the brain of a live
porpoiSe at Cape Hatteras was de-
scribed by 0. r. Langworthy of Johns
Hopkins University 1t was rather haz-
ardous surgery, he said not because oi
the aggressiveness of the porpoise, but
because everybody in the neighborhood
fiocked to the beach to witness the per-
formance, the men dropping their Gig.
arctic ashes nonchalantly into the ether
cans.
The experiment was made in an ef.
fort TO determine the motor centers ir
the brain of the little whale, but II
failed. because of the difficult condi.
tions under which it was performed
The porpoise. Mr.. Langworthy said, ha.
very good brain. with a large anC
deeply convoluted cerebral area, one
portion of which probably Is especially
adapted to preserving the equilibrium
OF the creature In the water.
= Art Of Tanning Animals.
The art OF tanning wild animals wa.
described by Vernon Bailey Of The
United States Biological Survey, who
showed motion pictures and living
specimens. q. ESs A. Goldman OF the
Biological Survey told OF introducing
animals foreign 10 a section, and Fran.
els Harper of the Boston Society oi
Natural History told Of the spread oi
the cottontail and gray fox in New
York and New England.
All whales possess peculiar physica
organ which enables them to gauge
water pressure. said Ernst Huber oi
Johns Hopkins University.
This Is known as the melon" an ac-
emulation of fat of special compost.
tion. located In the upper jaw just ir
front Of the blow-hole. This lump oi
fat. DR.. Huber said. is kept under a
certain tension by the animals facia
muscles. and acts as an automatic
gauge. enabling the whale TO sense the
presence Of obstacles in water and pre-
venting them from diving too deep Il
point where they would be crushed
by the pressure of the water or bump
into the bottom. It also enables them
TO avoid shallow waters where the biz
animals might become stranded. The
melon" Is richly supplied with nerves
he said.
The whale has lost almost entirely
the sinus hairs In the region Of the
snout which guide the seals and the
sealionS.
Keep Ear Tubes Closed.
Seals and animals such as the mana
tees have special muscles DR.. Huber
said. which enable them 10 keep the
eyelids and the ear tubes closed under
water--the latter so that when they
rise to the surface their ears will mol
be full OF water and they can hear al
once any air-borne sounds. They also
have special muscles which enable
them to keep the nostrils closed
The whale long since has lost the
power OF hearing out OF water. but still
retains these muscles because they fl
into the general scheme which oper-
ates the melon" and the blow-horn
The latter was described by DR. Huber
as being such remarkable develop
ment and so intricate in It's operation
that investigators have been puzzled for
over a century.
behavior OF the infant for the first few
hours after birth are surprisingly like
those OF the human. DR., Carl Hartman
Of the Carnegie Institution said. "The
baby cried for the first time" he said
several minutes after II was born and
could hold on to the mothers kin al
most at once"
Mountain sheep Not Extinct.
The owls poll or mountain sheep oi
the Pamirs. which has been considered
one OF the rarest OF living animals and
which Was the object OF a special ex-
pedition by Theodore and Kermit
Roosevelt two years ago, is far from
extinct. William j. Morden of the
American Museum Of Natural History
said last night.
Although seldom seen on the Chiness
side OF the Pamir range, Morden said
there are still great fiocks of them IN
the Russian Pamirs. He described his
own adventurous expedition into the
Turkestan mountains, which resulted In
his obtaining a considerable collection
Although he had expected trouble with
The Soviet authorities. he was received
with the utmost courtesy. he said, but
later. when he crossed into Mongolia, he
was captured and tortured by Chinese
soldiers, finally escaping only by the
good offices OF Russian consul.
Among the other animals which he
collected was the Asiatic roe deer which
barks like small dog. and the ibex OF
the Himalayas, sttli fairly abundant, but
almost impossible To capture or shoot
The ibex. he said lives during the day
among inaccessible cragS, but comes
down TO lower country after dark tc
Craze. The hunters only chance Ia &c
start out In pitch darkness after mid
night and climb crags, where he Is In
danger of death at every step. Then
he will be above the ibex as they return
at dawn. and. with good luck, may
shoot one or two of them.
- -
LEGAL AUTHORITY DIES