Yesterday and To-day- 

 Reindeer has passed, and cannot return so far as our 

 sea-girt islands are concerned. 



Deep in the recesses of the centuries the ancient 

 Briton hunted the Wild Boar from the rim of either 

 shore, for the distribution of this animal appears to 

 have been extremely wide. Even down to the six- 

 teenth century the sport of hunting was not complete 

 without the hunt of the Wild Boar. To-day the only 

 remnant of the Boar-hunt lingers amid the quaint 

 place-names of hill and hamlet. 



Of all distinctly British mammals the Wolf stands 

 out most prominently in history, tradition, and 

 romance. No one can now fix the date when this 

 animal first appeared upon British soil, but it is very 

 evident that during its occupation it constantly proved 

 a source of dreaded danger to the natives. 



Passing on to the fifteenth century, one finds Pope 

 Pius II. writing that "there were no Wolves in Scotland." 

 Even then, Wolves were by no means scarce in the 

 more secluded parts of the country. From whatever 

 source His Holiness had gleaned his information, it was 

 quite erroneous to write so, because it was not until 

 the middle of the eighteenth century that the last Wolf 

 was killed in Britain. Amongst quite a budget of 

 instances following the above statement by the Pope 

 named, one finds from ancient records that " WoulfFs " 

 were included in the lists of animals slain during many 

 of the sporting excursions undertaken by the nobles of 

 a much later date. For instance, the hunt provided 



82 



