INTRODUCTION 11 



to an invasion of House Rats and Domestic Cats, either through 

 direct attack or through some epizootic introduced by one or both 

 of these animals. 



On the other hand, through the archipelago generally, cultivated 

 areas and the native population show a strong tendency to increase ; 

 this is especially true of the Sunda Islands and the Philippines. 

 Thus the native mammals are engaged in a steady retreat into the 

 dwindling forests. 



In the Netherlands Indies many good protective measures have 

 been adopted. No less than 76 nature reserves have been created, 

 and these may be regarded as the final refuge of the native fauna. 

 Hunting and export of wild animals are prohibited except under 

 special license. 



In Borneo and New Guinea the native population is less dense 

 than in the Sunda Islands, and there is apparently little use by the 

 natives of firearms that primary factor in the extermination of 

 wild life. 



The vanishing mammals of the archipelago, for which special 

 concern is felt, include the following: 



Orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus) 



Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) 



Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus} 



Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis sumatrensis) 



Babirussa (Babirussa babyrussa) 



Javan Banteng (Bibos sondaicus sondaicus) 



Bornean Banteng (Bibos sondaicus lowi) 



Tamarao or Dwarf Buffalo of Mindoro (Anoa mindorensis) 



Common Anoa of Celebes (Anoa depressicornis) 



Mountain Anoa of Celebes (Anoa jergusoni) 



Sumatran Serow (Capricornis sumatraensis sumatraensis) 



Of these, the Javan Rhin'oceros is in the most serious condition, 

 being reduced to perhaps two dozen individuals. 



ASIA 



The fauna of this greatest of the continents has been safeguarded 

 in part by natural conditions. Chief among these is the sparsity of 

 the human population over such vast areas as the taiga and the 

 tundra of Siberia and the deserts of Mongolia, Chinese Turkestan, 

 Persia, and Arabia. The great mountain masses of the Himalaya, 

 Tian Shan, and Altai systems, as well as numerous lesser ranges, 

 have also afforded a measure of protection to the mammals adapted 

 to these high altitudes. 



A factor in the preservation of the large mammals of Afghan- 

 istan and Tibet has been the exclusion of all but a handful of 

 foreigners. India, despite its teeming population, has not exter- 



