296 NATURAL HISTORY OF HAWAII. 



The tii'st deer were broug'ht to Hawaii from Oivhotsk, Siberia, in 18.')(), Init the 

 ilolokai lierd of spotted deer''' originated from a small tloek of eight that 

 were sent to Kamehanieha V., from Japan in 1867. The\- increased in nnmbers 

 at a remarkable rate; so rapidly, indeed, that they were thonght to threaten 

 the destruction of the forests. Some years'' later the government found it neces- 

 sary to employ professional hnnters to rednce their number: but deer are still 

 ])lentifiil on Molokai, and they furnish the s])(irtsmen of the islands with big 

 game shooting each season. 



The ground color of the fur of the spotted deer is rufous-fawn; the whole 

 of the body being marked by a number of spots which are present at all ages 

 of the animals and throughout the year. These spots tend to arrange them- 

 selves in longitudinal lines. Thei-e is a blackish line running down the back 

 from the nape t)f the nei'k to the base of the tail. White prevails on the 

 inside of the ears, the chin, the upper part of the throat, the inside of the legs, 

 as well as the under surface of the tail. A few very large bucks have been shot 

 on IMolokai, but the average of the largest would seem to be about loO pounds, 

 while the does seldom weigh more than half as much. 



The spotted or axis deer is a native of India and Ceylon. It is a common 

 species in deer parks everywhere, and has been liberated in several coun- 

 tries in the Orient. They prefer to live in the forests at from three to four 

 thousand feet elevation, where they frequently congregate in small droves, usually 

 in the neighborhood of their drinking places. During the middle of the day 

 they manage to keep out of sight, but as darkness comes on they become active 

 and continue to feed during the night and for some time after sun-up. If 

 disturbed during the day they try to steal quietly away by creeping stealthily 

 off though the undergrowth. 



The IMongoose. 



The mongoose w'as first brought from Jamaica. West Indies, in 1883. 

 Thirty-six pairs were imported and liberated on Hawaii in the hope that they 

 ■would be of value in freeing the cane fields of rats, rnfortunately, they were 

 carried from one island to ajiother befure their habits were fully understood, 

 with the result that all of the islands, with the exception of Kauai, are now 

 infested with this animal that has proved to be a pest, about which but 

 little can be said in its favor. The mongoose '■' is a native of India, where the 

 common species is easily tamed. It is yellowish-gray in color, flecked with 

 lilaclc. and is mink-like in size and general ap]iearance. Its fondness for 

 jioultry and eggs renders it a serious menace to the ranchman. In the back 

 country and the wild mountains it does much damage to grovuid-nesting birds, 

 and is listed as one among the many causes of the rapid decrease in the 

 number of sevei'al of the llawaiaian species. 



Skixks axd Oeckos. 



Of the land reptiles (inl\' seven species of small geckos and skinks have 



