THE PASSING OF THE WILD 309 



the agency of the tsetse-fly, and it seems to 

 have been communicated from the tame herds 

 to the wild with terrible results. The tsetse, 

 like the mosquito, is an insect which haunts 

 water, and in consequence the buffalo, inyala, 

 koodoo, and other creatures of thirsty habits 

 suffered worst, whereas the thick-skinned 

 rhinoceros was almost immune from the 

 disease. 



As already mentioned, lions must have been 

 terribly destructive to the antelopes, and the 

 same may be said of the packs of hunting- 

 dogs that can run down and kill even an 

 eland. 



There are other influences which have killed 

 off the big game. We need not go back to 

 the climatic changes of the earth which swept 

 away the giant reptiles, leaving man's heritage 

 free from such nightmares. It is, however, 

 obvious that the big game of Europe, with the 

 single exception of the Scandinavian elk, has 

 retreated before the march of civilisation. With 

 the cutting down of forests and draining of 

 marshes and building of towns, not to mention 

 the operations of agriculture and the farming 

 of sheep and cattle, there is no longer room 

 for the bear, boar and wolf. The North 

 American bison had to go in like manner. 

 Its extermination is generally attributed to the 

 railway gangers and to the trade in its meat 



