FOREWORD 



AY 1, 1942, is likely to be a significant date in the history of con- 

 servation, for on that day the "Convention on Nature Protec- 

 tion and Wildlife Preservation in the American Republics " came into 

 effect for the seven American countries, including the United States, 

 that had deposited ratifications with the Pan American Union. 

 Twelve other Republics have now signed the Treaty, and it is hoped 

 that their ratifications are soon to follow. 



Publication of the present volume, devoted to the extinct and 

 vanishing mammals of the New World, including certain marine 

 mammals of all the oceans, is therefore particularly timely. Its 

 author, Dr. Glover M. Allen, of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 

 at Harvard University, who died on February 14, 1942, was one of 

 the great naturalists of his day. His profound knowledge of mammals 

 and birds was the result not only of a life-time study in museums but 

 also of intimate observation of animals in their native habitats in 

 Africa, Australia, the Caribbean, and South America, as well as in 

 many parts of his own country. The final preparation of this report 

 was one of the last projects that Dr. Allen completed before his un- 

 timely death. We know that he thought of it as one might think of 

 the clearing of a new trail into a virgin forest. It will, indeed, be the 

 opening of the way to a wider understanding of the genuine need for 

 international cooperation, if the vanishing wildlife of the Americas 

 is to be preserved for the benefit of future generations. 



This volume is dedicated to Dr. Allen's friend Dr. John C. Phillips, 

 founder and first chairman of the American Committee for Interna- 

 tional Wildlife Protection. It was largely due to Dr. Phillips's vision 

 that in May 1936 a project for a comprehensive study of the recently 

 extinct and vanishing mammals of the world was undertaken under 

 the auspices of the American Committee. Information on this sub- 

 ject had never been assembled, and it was felt that such a report, if 

 carefully prepared, would be invaluable to the work of the Committee 

 in helping to determine those species of mammals most urgently in 

 need of protection and, at the same time, to estimate factors that 

 might have caused the extinction of species. Basic information was 



