Evening star., 1941-05-11
Man Versus the
Primitive
BIZ Frederic J. HdSkin.

!
on Barro Colorado Island, Gatun Lake,
Canal Zone. The experiment is to ascer-
tain whether man can conquer wilder
ness without destroying its wildlife.
Place civilized man in primeval trop.
ical forest and he soon becomes a help
less creature. Although by far the men,
tai superior of any of his animal neigh
bors, he is incomparably their inferior
in meeting the demands of the moment,
and he knows nothing of the fellowship
| of Nature. He is SO far removed from
his forest-inhabiting ancestors that
without assistance ne falls victim to his
lack of inherited experience.
Should man survive and, armed with
the weapons of civilization, return to
the attack, he wages war Of annihila-
tion. The great trees and their de-
| pendents with their impenetrable net
work of vines and wirelike aerial roots
disappear, and with them go the count
less forms of animal life to which they
gave abundant food and perfect shelter.
| Must modern mans conquest of
| tropical forest always be won at so great
a cost? This is the question that natu-
| ralists are endeavoring to answer in
the negative by their experiments on
Barro Colorado Island Successes so far
make them feel that they already know
| the answer.
Formed by the damming of the
| Chagres River and the consequent food
ing of 165 square miles of lowlands,
| Barro Colorado Island contains 1000
acres of dense forests and steep slopes
which form a world fitted for the occu-
| pancy of forest inhabitating beasts ma
| tive to the region. And with few ex-
ceptions, they are all known to be there.
PumaS, ocelots, tapirs, white-lipped and
collared peccaries. white-tailed and
| forest deer, two-toed and three-toed
sloths, four kinds of monkeys, coati-
mundis, agoutis, pacas, opossums and
host of other creatures are free on the
island to live their lives undisturbed by
man. Only the jaguar is unrecorded
but there is no proof Of his absence.
| The bird life of the island is equally
| complete. Parrots, toucans, trogons.
| motmots, hummingbirds, tanagers, gauns
and others to the number of 300 species
have so far been found by the natural
lists, and the manner of living of all is
! being intensely studied. And that goes
for the animals. too.
Since the experiment started more
| than a year ago, some 200 naturalistS
| have visited Barro Colorado. Each has
/ had somewhat different interest, but
! the main object of all the naturalists
| is to make the island at least one place
| in the world where man befriends both
| beast and bird, where a truce with them
can be made, and where they can be
tanned in their wild habitats.
The first step was TO cut narrow trails
deep into the forests, not only so nat
uralists could have easier access to the
| forests. but that animals might have free
| play In miles of paths. 1t is on these
trails that experimenters often come in
! closer contact with animals. but always
/ showing them a look of kindness and
| never exhibiting a weapon. unless some
| beast decides that his domain must not
/ be encroached upon by man and offers
| fight. Even then, weapons are brought
into play only as last resort in self
defense.
After the narrow trails were cut an
inventory of wild life was made Not
only did this inventory include the num-
ber or approximate number of each kind
of beast and bird, but every type Of tree,
vine and other species of plants. This
work was supplemented by a study of
temperature, humidity, evaporation, light
intensity and all other factors that have
a direct or indirect bearing on the ma
ture of the islands creatures.
An animal psychologist from Yale Uni
versity has devoted months to a study
of the bowling clans of monkeys with
an enthusiasm that knew no hours and
carried him to their haunts in the tree
tops. Recently a representative from
Johns Hopkins has been studying the
embryology of the opossum. Ornithol-
ogists from several large museums in this
and other countries have observed birds.
especially the giant oriole, during their
nesting seasons.
So one might continue to name re-
searches, all more or less tinged with
the romance Of the tropics, all adding
in varying degrees to mans knowledge
of wild life. And of that it is the opin-
ion of many students of the subject that
mans knowledge is more extensive in
other fields than it is in the bird and
animal kingdom.
One of the first approaches to making
friends with the animals was the taking
to the island of certain tropical fruits
not found there and offering them as
food These were accepted with great
relish, even to the extent that often there
was a look of eagerness for more. This
gave the naturalist an idea-that Of
transplanting to the island tropical fruits
found most acceptable to the beasts.
Many other schemes are being worked
out to make beasts and birds realize that
man is their friend.
This great collection of creatures, not
confined behind iron bars, but in a per-
feet setting in one of Natures unusual
gardens, is to remain long study. Nat
uralists may not achieve their hopes, but
they have at least set up an Eden where
man spares beast.
tn Nv Mnfher