GREAT STEPS IN ORGANIC EVOLUTION 895 



There is something to be said for the view that a country is not 

 poorer when it gets rid of its wolves and bears; but this kind of 

 consolation cannot be discovered for such creatures as beavers, 

 pine-martens, and wild cats. The disappointing general fact brought 

 out by Dr. Ritchie's very careful study is the gradual depreciation 

 of the fauna under man's influence. The larger animals disappear, 

 and pigmies take their place; the standard of the fauna sinks. It 

 is true that the actual number of different kinds of animals has not 

 been lessened since Neolithic man settled in Scotland (to take the 

 simpler case) some seven or eight thousand years ago. Fourteen or 

 so species have been banished since man intervened, but we have 

 gained more. Some of these are welcome enough, such as fallow-deer 

 and pheasants ; but what compensation for loss is there in gaining 

 rats and insect pests ? 



As Dr. Ritchie says: "How can the increase of rabbits and 

 sparrows and earthworms and caterpillars and the addition of 

 miDions of rats and cockroaches and crickets and bugs ever take 

 the place of those fine creatures round the memories of which the 

 glamour of Scotland's past still plays — the reindeer and the elk, 

 the wolf, the brown bear, the lynx, and the beaver, the bustard, the 

 crane, the bumbling bittern, and many another, lost or disap- 

 pearing?" 



There is undoubtedly an improvement in man's attitude to wild 

 life — a growing desire not to destroy ruthlessly. This is partly due 

 to a diffusion of interest in wild creatures and a greater appreciation 

 of their beauty. It is also due to a clearer recognition of the risks 

 involved in disturbing the balance of Nature. It is now more clearly 

 understood that the destruction of birds and beasts of prey, such as 

 eagles, hawks, owls, pole-cats, stoats, and weasels, is followed 

 by undue increase of small rodents, such as rats and mice 

 and voles. 



We are not advocating the restoration of the wolf ; but there are 

 some relatively unused parts of the country where there might be 

 reservation parks and sanctuaries to save some of the dwindling 

 animals. 



There are many facts that prove the practicability of restoration 

 when that is desirable. Thus the common squirrel, that became 

 extinct in Scotland at the end of the eighteenth centiury, has been 

 successfully reintroduced. There has been a notable increase in the 

 number of Wild Cats since the War, and the same is true of 

 Golden Eagles. 



Another possibility, still in an experimental stage, is the starting 

 of breeding farms for furred animals, such as silver foxes. If man 

 cared more about it, and thought more about it, he could do more 

 not only to control and utilise, but to enrich the animal kingdom 

 of which he is trustee. 



