SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH ON NORTH 



AMERICAN BIG GAME AND FUR-BEARING 



ANIMALS 



Presented by request to the Boone and Crockett Club 



By Dr. Charles C. Adams 



Professor of Forest Zoology, The Nezv York State College of 

 Forestry at Syracuse University 



Introduction 



Statement of the Problem. In view of the fact that there are 

 several organizations and endowments devoted solely to the protec- 

 tion and propagation of large game and fur-bearers, and none 

 devoted solely to the investigation of their life history and natural 

 history, it is evident that this field is greatly neglected. I know of 

 no one whose time is devoted solely to this kind of investigation. 



The recent organization of our National Park Service, and the 

 extensive area of National Forests suitable for large game, and the 

 impending crisis of the beaver problem in .New York, are exam- 

 ples which show the urgency of scientific investigation of these prob- 

 lems by technically trained men before the management and admin- 

 istration of these animals in preserves and forests can be executed 

 intelligently. 



While of course considerable is known about the life histories 

 and habits of our large 'mammals, yet much remains to be learned 

 about even the beaver, possibly the best known woodland species. 

 At present our knowledge of these larger animals is very superficial 

 indeed, when compared with what is known of many harmful insect 

 pests, such as the Chinch Bug, Rocky Mountain Locust, and the 

 San Jose Scale. We are passing through an important awakening 

 as to the value of wild animals and yet we have no generally recog- 

 nized policy for the management of animal sanctuaries because we 

 know so little about the larger dominating species. 



Special attention should be called to the fact that emphasis is 

 here placed not on the technical details of species and varieties (a 

 subject which for the North American fauna has reached the point 

 of " diminishing returns ") but on the activities of the living animal 

 and its relation to the real world in which it lives. 



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