THE ZOOLOGIST 



No. 797.— November. 1907. 



BIOLOGICAL SUGGESTIONS. 



EXTERMINATION IN ANIMAL LIFE. 

 Part II. — By Human Agency. 



By W. L. Distant. 



(Continued from vol. ix. p. 345.) 



When we examine the direct action of man in animal exter- 

 mination we may safely affirm that from the time of his ap- 

 pearance the whole fauna " groaneth and travaileth in pain 

 together until now." In his early stage, when he hunted for 

 food, there had arisen a predatory foe against whom size was no 

 protection, but rather an inducement for slaughter ; the substi- 

 tution of the pastoral for the hunter stage of existence brought 

 little amelioration, for then many animals were exterminated 

 for the safety of the herds. Increasing civilization was the 

 death-knell to many species, for sport not only claimed its own, 

 but the industrial manufactures in daily life inaugurated a 

 virtual reign of terror. Hides and tusks of mammals, feathers 

 of birds, the oil of the cetacean, &c, were all brought to the 

 altar of commerce, and frequently in such quantities as to have 

 for ever destroyed the original contributors. Forests dis- 

 appeared as mankind learnt to appreciate the value of timber. 

 Animals hitherto little molested in the struggle for existence 

 became almost decimated, as they were found to provide a 

 delicacy for the table. Woman sought to increase her attrac- 

 tion for man by adorning her wearing apparel with the feathers 

 Zool. 4th ser. vol. XT , November, 1907. 2 I 



