THE BLAAUWBOK. 



Summa cortex levis innatet unda 

 Cum grave nexa simul retia mergat onus. 1 



-Ovid, Tristia Lib. III. 



Amongst animals the larger and more conspicu- 

 ous species are ever the first to be exterminated, 

 while the small fry find their safety in their 

 very insignificance. The great white rhinoceros, 

 hugest of all terrestrial mammals save the 

 elephant, has almost disappeared from Africa 

 south of the Zambesi, though the diminutive 

 Cape hyrax yet flourishes in its mountain 

 fastnesses : the gigantic moa tallest of the 

 ostrich tribe has vanished for ever, hounded 

 to death by the Maories, though the diminu- 

 tive apteryxes still find shelter in the ferny 

 brakes of New Zealand ; further instances might 

 be multiplied indefinitely. In addition to large 

 size, limitation of range seriously predisposes a 

 species to extermination. This factor alone 

 has had disastrous effect on many forms of very 

 moderate size, such as the Reunion Starling, the 

 Norfolk Island parrot, and the black emu. As 

 examples of both agents acting in combination, 

 one may instance the extermination of the sea-cow 



1 The light cork floats on the top of the waves, while the weighted 

 net sinks. 



