INTRODUCTION 



work may do something toward arousing the 

 residents of the Canal Zone and the Republic 

 to the importance of preserving the animals, 

 birds and some of the most interesting forests, 

 has been one of the incentives that has led 

 to my undertaking it. If the larger and 

 more interesting animals and birds are ex- 

 terminated and all the wonderful old growth 

 tropical forests are destroyed, it will be a 

 cause of much regret after it is too late to 

 remedy it. 



PROTECTION OF DISAPPEARING SPECIES 



The way to prevent the extermination of a 

 species is not to allow it to get rare. The 

 time to begin efforts to preserve it is while it 

 is still common and widely distributed. After 

 it is reduced to a mere remnant of a few indi- 

 viduals and is restricted to a fraction of the 

 geographical area it formerly inhabited, it 

 becomes difficult to restore it to abundance 

 again and, in many cases, impossible to pre- 

 vent the constant diminution of its numbers 

 until it finally becomes extinct. 



Many of the birds are valuable to man as 

 destroyers of insects, as game birds, or as 

 food; while those that are not useful are for 

 the most part quite harmless and often very 

 beautiful and interesting creatures, which all 

 who have a love of nature enjoy seeing and 

 becoming familiar with. 



It cannot be too strongly emphasized that 

 now is the time to begin systematic and 

 earnest efforts to preserve the wild life of the 

 Isthmus, and to set aside reservations for 



