Conservation of Mammals 



The animals that live on these Pacific islands and others 

 should be allowed to persist almost indefinitely in order to pro- 

 vide interest, information, sport, and even a means of livelihood 

 for the present and future generations, but they may be de- 

 stroyed in a few years by thoughtless and wasteful hunting, 



NEED FOR PRESERVATION 



Island mammals are in a difficult situation for survival, even 

 when no human beings are present. The number of individuals 

 of any species is limited by the area of the island; a limited 

 number can find food or shelter necessary to life. Related or 

 similar species may be present to compete for minimal require- 

 ments, a condition which still further limits the number of indi- 

 viduals of the first mammal. If natives are present, the land 

 they cultivate reduces the area available for the animals, and 

 the natives eke out their food supply by hunting and trapping. 

 A few species are actually benefited by the presence of man; 

 several rodents make their homes with him and feed parasitically 

 on the food he grows and stores. The natives are usually neither 

 numerous enough nor well enough supplied with modern guns to 

 effect great changes in the anima^ population, but they may 

 exterminate large, slow-breeding mammals if the wild island 

 population of a species is small enough to be at a critical point. 

 For example, although the only banting now found in Bali are 

 domesticated, wild banting may very well have occurred there 

 formerly. This may also explain why the elephant, which was 



181 



