146 ECONOMIC MAMMALOGY 



of the continent and very abundant in many localities, is now extermi- 

 nated over much the greater part of its former range and greatly re- 

 duced -in numbers almost everywhere. Hundreds of elk have been il- 

 legally killed just for the two teeth worn as emblems by members of 

 a fraternal organization, and the slaughter is still going on. 9 Before 

 the enactment of game laws, Alaska deer were killed by the thousands 

 merely for their hides, which sold for a few cents each, the venison 

 being shamelessly wasted. 



The musk-ox of the Far North, a gregarious animal, had developed 

 habits that enabled it to successfully resist the attacks of wolves and 

 other natural enemies, but those habits were fatal when its home was 

 invaded by men carrying powerful, rapid-fire rifles. Like the antelope, 

 it will not thrive if removed from its natural habitat. Thus far the 

 musk-ox has been rather well protected by its isolation and the diffi- 

 culties of transportation that discouraged most men from attempting 

 the penetration of the inhospitable region, but as it is now reduced al- 

 most to the point of extermination, and those difficulties are being 

 overcome, only the most rigorous protection can save these unique 

 animals from annihilation. 



The beaver, another exceedingly interesting animal, was once very 

 abundant throughout the greater part of the United States and British 

 America. Because of its abundance, the ease with which large numbers 

 could be captured and the excellence of its pelt, it was for a great many 

 years the backbone of the world's fur trade. As a result it was some 

 time ago exterminated from a large part of its range in America, as 

 it was in Europe, and in nearly every region where it survives the 

 living animals are a small remnant of the former beaver population. 

 Recognizing its value as a fur-bearer, serious and successful efforts are 

 now being made to re-establish it in favorable localities where it should 

 be able to thrive and where its operations will do little harm to agri- 

 cultural or other private or public interests. 



Hunting and trapping has wrought great havoc also among other 

 groups of fur-bearing animals all over the world. Published records 

 show that 107,689,927 skins of 23 kinds of fur-bearers passed through 

 the principal fur-trade markets in 1921. This does not include all the 

 wild animals that are used extensively in the fur trade or the millions 

 of furs that do not pass through the centers of the trade and conse- 

 quently are unreported. So serious has become the destruction of fur- 



9 Leek, Elk tusk hunting, Outdoor Life, xxxv, 149-151, 1915. 



