— 38 — 



(not whole ones) of a species of cormorants, which have 

 died out, from the middle of the XIX century. The ge- 

 neral quantity of killed foxes now does not attain 2,000 

 on both Islands. The reason of this is the decrease of 

 the foxes on Copper Isl. The result will be seen in 1901, 

 as in important places, no fox-hunt has been carried on 

 for four years. This experiment will be the means of 

 judging, how far the decrease of sealing was to blame 

 in the diminishing of the fox herds and whether the reason 

 is not, that the hunt has been too careless and numerous 

 in former times. In winter the foxes get so daring, that 

 they go to the villages on Behring lsl.; on Copper Isl. 

 where no dogs exist, they even live under the sheds. 

 The fox becomes rather tame, if caught when young, but 

 its thieving capacities and the smell from it, does not 

 permit one to keep it long in bondage. 



As part of mammalia brought to the Islands, must 

 be mentioned the rein-deer. According to the initiatives 

 of Dr. Dybovsky, who has taken great trouble in studying 

 Kamtchatka and who has written much about the Com- 

 mander Islands (in Polish), the former Alaska Company 

 brought rein-deers onto Behring Isl. — 4 males and 11 fe- 

 males, where they multiplied splendidly, so that in 1882 

 they formed a group of about 1000 animals. 



At the present time yearly for the administration 

 about ten reindeers are killed. As the same time as the 

 rein-deer, the gad-fly became known. 



In General the vicinity of Kamtchatka and the private 

 means of communication have made it possible for seve- 

 ral terrestria animals to appear — Microtus rutilus the 

 field-mouse; the house-mouse was brouhgt in in 1870 from 

 America with flour. The bat appeared from Kamtchatka 

 (Vespertilio). With wood, coming from Petropavlovsk, many 

 kinds of insects were brought in, as well as with com- 

 pressed hay from America and Kamtchatka. The untidy 

 Kamtchatka Kossacks brought with them the indispen- 

 sable attribute of a Russian hut-the tarakan (black beetle) 



