FAUXA OF EAST AFRICA. 15 



Avlietlier viewed from the point of view of the zoologist and 

 na.turalist, or from that of a great national asset. 



The problem is one of some complexity. On one side we have 

 the interests of an increasing nnmber of settlers who have in 

 many cases invested their all in their farms, and who cannot be 

 ignored ; for as time goes on they are steadily acquiring the right 

 to decide the future fate of the country in which they have 

 settled. On the other hand, we still have in our trust a wealth 

 of wild fauna such as exists nowhere else in the world to-day ; 

 similar conditions ruled in other parts of Africa, but in most 

 areas the game has been well-nigh annihilated by the advance of 

 settlement. In Kenya Colony the conditions are not quite ana- 

 logous, for here we have large areas not suited for white settle- 

 ment, and if game can be definitely confined in those areas by 

 the conservation of adequate water and grazing, and later by the 

 addition of fencing, the solution of the problem is in sight. 



The question is how this state of afiairs can be brought about, 

 and that is where I venture to hope that this Society and also 

 the Society for the preservation of the fauna of the Empiie may 

 be able to play a great part. 



I do not propose to pose as an alarmist, but having had the 

 opportunity of watching the growth of the country for many 

 years, I consider that the interests of the wild-game fatuia are in 

 a precarious condition, and therefore crave no excuse for urging 

 that more interest should be taken in its future by the zoologists 

 •of this country. 



