ORDER MARSUPIALIA: MARSUPIALS 111 



be extirpated .... Such is the dense nature of the vegetation, that 

 nothing larger than a dog can follow it; still it is taken by men 

 residing on the island in the greatest abundance, both for the sake 

 of its skin and its flesh: they procure it principally by snares, a 

 simple noose placed on the outskirts of the brush; but they also 

 shoot it when it appears on the open glades at night." 



Jones (1924, pp. 235-239) gives the following account for South 

 Australia : 



Unfortunately the time has gone by when a good first-hand account of the 

 small scrub wallabies inhabiting South Australia could have been written. 

 The disappearance of the mainland wallabies is almost as remarkable a 

 phenomenon as the disappearance of the Native Cat. . . . 



It is extremely difficult to define the former range of this complex species 

 on the mainland of South Australia, or even to discriminate with any cer- 

 tainty between the mainland form and the type of animal now living on 

 Kangaroo Island. Only a few years ago it swarmed in scrub-covered districts 

 all over the State, to-day it seems impossible to secure a single mainland 

 specimen for scientific study. In places where annual battues were held by 

 the present landowners less than twenty years ago it has disappeared altogether. 

 It is almost certain that some still linger upon the mainland, notably at the 

 southern end of Eyre's Peninsula and in the South-eastern districts, but so 

 far these animals have not been properly studied or preserved. . . . 



In Kangaroo Island it is abundant and, since it lives in thousands upon 

 Flinders Chase fauna reserve, it is guaranteed, in so far as complete protec- 

 tion can guarantee it, perpetual survival. . . . 



The wallaby of St. Peter Island has become extinct, and therefore we 

 cannot compare the animal now known as Thylogale eugenii with the St. 

 Peter Island animal, and, moreover, the original specimen described by 

 Desmarest is no longer in existence in Paris. It would seem to be somewhat 

 doubtful if the animal now known as Thylogale eugenii is the same as the 

 animal originally seen and captured on L'ile Eugene. The Kangaroo Island 

 Wallaby is readily kept and bred in confinement .... 



E. Le G. Troughton remarks (in Hit., April 16, 1937) that its 

 survival "appears assured on Kangaroo Island, illustrating the value 

 of island sanctuaries in preserving remnants of vanishing stock." 



Hoy writes (1923, pp. 164-165) of conditions on Eyre's Peninsula, 

 South Australia: "I was told, by a professional kangaroo hunter, 

 that at the time of the introduction of the fox he was always sure 

 of at least six dozen wallabies (Macropus eugenii) per week, but 

 during the season I was there, the fourth after the introduction of 

 the fox, he had not even seen one." 



According to Finlayson (1927, p. 375), "the Thylogale of the 

 South Australian mainland has been exterminated before its identity 

 was properly established." 



Shortridge (1910, pp. 812-813) gives its status in Western Aus- 

 tralia as follows: 



"Very plentiful in many parts of the South- West, but rapidly dis- 

 appearing in the cultivated districts, especially towards the northern 

 end of its range. Not occurring in the coastal country between 



