120 On the trail of vanishing birds 



Zoo. If these two birds were male and female, they might pair 

 off if brought together under the right circumstances. 



It should be understood at once that the primary object of our 

 investigation was to provide for the future survival of the whooping 

 crane in a wild state. Anything less than that would be only as a 

 last desperate resort, in so far as the wild population was con- 

 cerned. On this subject of wild, free-flying birds versus birds that 

 are caged, or pinioned, or restrained in some other way, there are 

 two very definite schools of thought, one as adamant as the other. 

 You remember the words sung by Private Willis in the opening 

 scene of Act II of lolanthe ". . . every boy and every gal that's 

 born into the world alive is either a little Liberal or else a little 

 Conservative!" It's something like that in this situation, and 

 there's really no use explaining one's position because no one is 

 going to change it, neither you nor the other fellow. Yet, there is 

 much to be said on both sides. Public zoos, for example, are of 

 immense educational value, which increases in proportion to the 

 intelligence and knowledge with which they are run. And people 

 who keep birds in captivity may learn a great many things about 

 them that will be unknown to the field ornithologist, though there 

 are, admittedly, few Jean Delacours and few Konrad Lorenzes, 

 more's the pity. Those who work in the field of plain, simple, and 

 unadorned wildlife conservation, on the other hand, generally 

 adhere to certain common ideals, even though some of these may 

 seem foolish and others may be more and more unattainable as 

 time goes by. Basically, considering the main object in view, these 

 ideals are sound even in the face of a rapidly changing world 

 and of increasing pressures against the very results the wildlife 

 conservationist may be seeking. Perhaps their basic soundness 

 actually increases as materialism increases, if that is what is hap- 

 pening. In any event, it is clear that the conservationist wants to 

 keep as many wilderness habitats intact as can be wrested from 

 the forces of evil and preserved in an inviolate condition. He also 

 wants the flora and fauna within these representative areas as com- 

 pletely undisturbed as possible. 



Regardless of personal feelings and deathless convictions on the 

 subject, we had to face the question of how best to utilize the 



