ZOOLOGICAL SOCI 

 BULLETIN 



fe 



• JUL221918 

 Published by the New York Zoological Satiety"- 



Vol. XXI 



JULY, 1918 



Number 4. 



WILD LIFE PRESERVATION AND EXTINCTION IN AUSTRALIA 



By W. H. D. Le Souef, 

 Director, Zoological Gardens, Melbourne. 



Author "The Mammals of Australia," "Wild Life of Australia," etc. 



A I STRALIA is a large country, approxi- 

 mately 2,000 miles square, and is very 

 sparsely populated, therefore although 

 good laws exist for the protection of native 

 game, it is very difficult to see that they are en- 

 forced in the thinly populated districts. For 

 example, Queensland has an area of 670,000 

 square miles, but its population is only about 

 1 90.000 whites, and approximately 9,000 abo- 

 rigines. New South Wales is better, having an 

 area of 309,160 square miles and a population 

 of 1,847,214. Victoria has an area of only 

 87.S84 square miles, but has a population of 

 1,397,977, so is considerably- more dense than 

 the other States. South Australia consists of 

 380,070 square miles and has 433,616 people, 

 hut Western Australia has the large area of 

 973.920 square miles and a population of only 

 308,806. 



The Northern Territory also is a large dis- 

 trict, consisting of 523,620 square miles, and 

 inhabited by only 4,767 people, excluding na- 

 tives. The island of Tasmania has 26,215 square 

 miles, with a population of 199,925. 



In glancing over these figures one can easily 

 realize the difficulty in fully enforcing game 

 laws. The only way that native animals surely 

 can be preserved for those that come after us 

 is to form reserves in various types of country. 

 This is being done in many of the States, but 

 only to a limited degree at present, because the 

 subject is a difficult one. Introduced foxes and 

 domestic cats that have gone wild, to say noth- 

 ing of rabbits, cannot well be kept out of these 

 reserves. The foxes and eats prey on the pro- 

 tected game, and the rabbits destroy the native 



grass and shrubs that it is sought to preserve. 

 Of course, these animals are not all over Aus- 

 tralia yet, but they certainly will be in course 

 of time, despite fences, and we cannot possibly 

 estimate the havoc they will play with the 

 ground game and waterfowl. It is quite possi- 

 ble that some species will become extinct before 

 we realize it. 



Then again, parts of Australia are subject to 

 severe droughts, and thousands of small ani- 

 mals, as well as birds and kangaroos, perish. 

 And emus cannot migrate as thev 7 used to do, on 

 account of fences and settlements. The sheep 

 and cattle help to denude the country and drain 

 the waterholes. Therefore, in some districts 

 where certain forms of life formerly were in 

 evidence, none are seen now. Take as an exam- 

 ple, about fifty miles inland from Rockhampton 

 in Queensland. There the beautiful parrakeet, 

 (l'scpltotiis pulcherrimus) was fairly plentiful, 

 but since the drought in 1896 not a bird has 

 been seen in the whole district. The pig-footed 

 bandicoot was comparatively common in the 

 southern districts of Australia, but now one is 

 rarely, if ever, found. 



Gilbert's rat-kangaroo, (Potorous gilbert i) .of 

 South West Australia, apparently is extinct. 

 The so-called native cat. (Dast/urus) was ex- 

 ceedingly plentiful in Victoria, but now they 

 are just as scarce as they once were plentiful. 

 It is difficult to say why these various animals 

 have almost disappeared. Of course the settle- 

 ments and what they bring with them might ac- 

 count for a good deal, but certainly not for all. 

 We really know little as to the unaccountable 

 disappearance of small mammals in districts 



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