310 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVI. No. 399. 



It rarely happens that a scientific organiza- 

 tion of national character is instituted with 

 so general support and so complete harmony as 

 was displayed at the founding of the Ameri- 

 can Anthropological Association. 



W JM. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 



BLUE FOXES ON THE PRIBYLOF ISLANDS. 



The account of the ' Blue Fox Trapping on 

 the Pribylof Island,' by Lembkey and Lucas 

 in Science, Vol. XVI., pp. 216-218, is highly 

 interesting in many respects, but while the 

 authors seem to regard the experiment of 

 sparing the females as of doubtful success, I 

 am of the opinion that the result has amply 

 justified it. 



It is quite true that the table of foxes trap- 

 ped on St. George Island, 1897-1901 (p. 216),* 

 apparently indicates a surprisingly small in- 

 crease in the females caught, but several 

 causes have probably conspired towards this 

 result. In the first place, the experience 

 on the Commander Islands seems to indicate 

 that the females are more cautious than the 

 males and are not so easily caught. Thus in 

 1896 there were taken in steel traps on Copper 

 Island 515 males and 452 females or 63 males 

 more than females. If this represents the nor- 

 mal ratio between the sexes caught then it will 

 be seen that on St. George Island in 1900-1901 

 there should have been taken only 539 females 

 to 614 males under normal circumstances. As 

 690 females were really taken it would seem 

 that the normal excess of females was 151 in- 

 stead of 76. 



It will be observed that during the previous 

 three years a large number of females have 

 been trapped on St. George Island, which were 

 released after having been ' marked 'or ' brand- 

 ed.' Is it quite probable that all these females 

 have allowed themselves to be caught over and 

 over again? The blue fox is a stupid crea- 

 ture compared with his red brother, and I know 

 that the same animal has repeatedly been trap- 

 ped. But from this to conclude that all the 

 females are thus caught and that none of them 

 have learned by experience to keep out of the 



* 1002 in the table quoted is probably a mis- 

 print for 1901. 



traps seems little probable, especially if it is 

 true that the females are more cautious than 

 the males. It appears to me even highly prob- 

 able that a large number of the females avoid- 

 ed being taken again, and that we have here 

 a valid explanation of the comparatively low 

 number of females in the table on p. 216. 



The writers of the article in question think 

 it probable ' that there has been some slight 

 gain in the number of foxes.' Apart from the 

 above considerations I think it can be shown 

 that the gain has been great and almost unex- 

 ampled. 



Statistics covering a long period of years 

 (1847-1891)* show that on the Commander 

 Island,t as a rule the successful fox hunt of 

 one season is followed by a tremendous drop 

 in the yield during the next year. Thus on' 

 Bering Island the number of foxes killed in 

 1852 was 1,900 ; in 1853 the number dropped to 

 547, or more than two thirds. In 1859 the 

 harvest was 1,233 foxes, while in 1860 only 584 

 were caught. In 1871 870 blue foxes were 

 killed, in 1872 only 580. In 1875, 1,087, in 

 1876 only 573. In 1881-2 the number was 

 1,477, in 1882-83 only 872. A series of fig- 

 ures such as we have them from St. George for 

 three consecutive years, viz., 867, 955, 1,304, is 

 therefore highly encouraging. 



It is therefore greatly to be hoped that the 

 authorities on the Pribylof Islands may not 

 lose heart even if the actual returns may not 

 come up to the figures of the table which is in- 

 tended to show what the increase ought to be 

 theoretically. It is evident that we do not 



* 'See my 'Asiatic Fur Seal Islands,' 1898, p. 43. 



t A corresponding table relating to the Pribylof 

 foxes during part of the same period ( ' Fur Seals 

 and Fur Seal Islands N. Pacif.,' III., 1899, p. 

 340) taken from I. Petroff's census report does 

 not show similar conditions on the Pribylof Is- 

 lands. Without knowing the source of these statis- 

 tics this difference is not easy to explain, but I 

 would suggest that the list in question may only 

 be a record of the number of skins shipped during 

 the respective years but not showing the number 

 of foxes actually killed in the year to which they 

 are credited. The company probably required a 

 certain number of skins shipped each year to sat- 

 isfy the demand of the market, hence the remark- 

 able uniformity. 



