66 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



examine . . . the branches of the loftiest gum-trees, and upon discovering a 

 Koala, they climb the tree in which it is seen with as much ease and 

 expedition as a European would mount a tolerably high ladder. . . . They 

 follow the animal to the extremity of a bough, and either kill it with the 

 tomahawk or take it alive. . . ." 



The Koala must be an abundant animal, since from 10,000 to 30,000 skins 

 are annually imported into London, while in 1889 the enormous total of 

 300,000 was reached. The value of these skins now ranges, according to Poland, 

 from five-pence to a shilling each; and they are mainly used in the manu- 

 facture of those articles for which a cheap and durable fur is required. 



Concerning the Koala's decline, persecution, and need of protec- 

 tion, Jones writes (1924, pp. 184-186) : 



It may be said to spend its whole life clinging to, and feeding upon, the 

 great eucalyptus trees. In just so much as it is a perfected specialisation 

 to its environment, so it is a slave to its environment. It has adapted itself to 

 the gum tree, and has become dependent upon the gum tree. It must be 

 regarded as an animal which has become phylogenetically senile as the out- 

 come of complete specialisation .... 



Probably no animal has been so ruthlessly slaughtered in order to satisfy 

 the demands of the fur trade. ... In the year 1908, no less than 57,933 Koala 

 pelts passed through the markets of Sydney alone. That this deplorable 

 slaughter still goes on is evidenced by the fact that in the two years 1920 

 and 1921 Osborn and Anthony have ascertained that the huge total of 

 205,679 Koalas were killed for the fur market. Since in the fur trade Koala 

 pelts pass under the name of "Wombat," many people assume that the 

 Native Bear has ceased to be persecuted. 



The complete extermination of the Native Bear would be a disgrace to 

 Australia, and yet, from its dependence upon a particular diet and a par- 

 ticular mode of life, its tenure of continued existence must always be regarded 

 as precarious. . . . 



Horrible cruelties have been committed and recounted by those who have 

 slaughtered them wholesale for the sake of their pelts. Indeed, one may say, 

 on humanitarian grounds, that not only should the slaughter of the Koala for 

 the fur trade be prohibited because the animal is eminently one to protect 

 and not to exterminate, but it should be prohibited because, like the slaying 

 of seals, it is the most brutalising occupation that a human being can 

 undertake. 



Le Souef and Burrell say (1926, pp. 291-292): "The quaint 

 koala . . . , perhaps, holds the affection of Australians more than 

 any other of their wild animals a fact for which its innocent, 

 babyish expression and quiet and inoffensive ways are largely re- 

 sponsible. It has been portrayed in caricature and verse, and its 

 hold on the public is used effectively by advertisers. . . . 



"The skin forms a thick, serviceable fur that will stand any 

 amount of hard usage. Only the most callous of shooters, however, 

 can bring themselves to shoot such a childlike animal." 



"In each of the States of Victoria, Queensland and New South 

 Wales, the animal is protected by law" (Stead, 1934, p. 18). Im- 

 portation into the United States of America was prohibited about 

 1930-31 by the United States Government. "So long as the United 



