Iff 



THE ZOOLOGIST 



THIRD SERIES. 



Vol. XII.] OCTOBER, 1888. [No. J 42. 



THE WILD ANIMALS OF BRITISH INDIA. 



It has been too much the habit of English sportsmen in 

 India, says a writer in a recent number of the ' Quarterly 

 Review' (No. 333, July, 1888), to deplore the general decrease 

 of the wild animals which they used to hunt. Wherever there 

 has been a marked diminution or disappearance of the beasts of 

 prey, it is usually due to one of three causes. The first and 

 principal cause has been the gradual increase of cultivation 

 throughout ; the second cause is referable to the policy adopted 

 by the Government of India, of giving pecuniary rewards for the 

 extermination of wild animals and poisonous snakes ; and the 

 third cause is to be found in the assiduous endeavours of English 

 sportsmen, during the last century, to kill as many wild beasts 

 as they could find time and opportunity to destroy. 



With regard to the first cause, it is a simple fact that the 

 clearance of the forest and the spread of cultivation have been 

 fatal, not only to the larger beasts of prey, but also to the 

 innocent herds of Deer and Antelopes. Without entering into 

 any discussion on the landed tenures of India, it is generally 

 known that, however much the Government revenue systems 

 may differ in each province, there is everywhere a similar 

 amount of land-hunger among the cultivating classes. Wherever 

 it has been possible to redeem a few acres of uncultivated land, 

 the venturesome peasant has gone in, with his bill-hook and his 

 plough, and has not hesitated to risk his life in protecting his 



ZOOLOGIST. — OTTOBER, 1888. 2 F 



