THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM || 



MAGAZINE 



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Published by the Australian Museum 

 Editor: C. Anderson, M.A., D.Sc. 



College Street, Sydney. 

 Annual 8ul)scription, Post Free, 4/4, 



Vol. I., No. 8. 



APRIL, 1923. 



Editorial 



THE AUSTRALIAN FAUNA. 



AT the present time there is a good 

 deal of public discussion on the 

 subject of our native mammals 

 and birds, and some of the partici])ants 

 are inclined to strike a note of ]}essimism 

 as regards the future of these members of 

 our fauna, particularly the marsupials. 

 It is undoubtedly true that the total 

 number of our wild animals is less now 

 than formerly ; that is an inevitable con- 

 sequence of the advance of settlement, 

 clearing o])erations, bush fires, the in- 

 troduction of animals like the fox and 

 the rabbit, and the widespread use of 

 poison in the endeavour to control these 

 pests. It is probably true, too, that 

 some species which inhabited Australia 

 when Captain Cook first landed on 

 these shores are now extinct, but we 

 hope that the number of these is small, 

 and that some deemed extinct are yet 

 lingering in some of the less accessible 

 and more sparsely inhabited portions 

 of our great continent. 



As Dr. W. K. Gregory pointed out 

 in a previous* issue, the Australian 

 marsupials are in many respects the 

 most interesting group of animals 

 now existing, and their undoubted 

 depletion is a de]:>lorable fact. It 

 behoves us as good Australians to do 



*The Australian Museum M.^gazine, Vol. I., No. 3, 

 DecPinber, 1922. p. 65. 



what we can to prevent, or at any rate 

 postpone, their extinction. A rigid 

 application of the laws ])rotecting wild 

 life would do much to save our mar- 

 supials, and the dedication of suitable 

 reserves, where those species which are 

 less able to cope with changed con- 

 ditions, could find sanctuary, should be 

 strongly urged on our legislators. 



At the same time we would de| rccate 

 the desire evident in some (piarters to 

 curtail the operations of scientific 

 collectors, es]iecially those representing 

 extra-Australian institutions. A little 

 consideration of the facts will convince 

 anyone that, so far as collecting for 

 scientific and educational purposes is 

 concerned, the damage done to our 

 indigenous fauna is so slight as to be 

 negligible. Within the last few years 

 two of the leading American museums 

 have had collectors in Australia, and 

 between them they have accounted 

 for about one thousand marsupials. 

 During the same period the number 

 of marsu]ials slaughtered for their 

 skins runs into millions Let us devote 

 our energies and ingenuity to controll- 

 ing trade in our wild animals and biixls, 

 which has for its object, not scientific 

 or educational advancement, but mere 

 gain. On the other hand, if the pessi- 

 mists are right, and our marsupials are 



