3G2 MR. liLDRED ON FOREIGN ANIMALS LIVING IN BRITISH PARKS. 
Antelopes, the Sable, or Harris Buck, the first instance that I know 
of, of its being seen in an English Park. The last to be mentioned 
is the Eland ( Oreas cannot), of which there are eight (six old and 
two young) animals, all in fine condition ; the oldest bull, a splendid 
creature. Much interest attaches to this Antelope, the largest of the 
species, as it was at one time thought capable of domestication in 
England, and it is to be hoped that further attempts may prove 
successful. 
The Eland was first introduced by the thirteenth Earl of Derby ? 
at Knowsley, in 1840. On the death of the Earl the herd passed, 
by bequest, to the Zoological Society, thus laying the foundation of 
the present stock which have done well in the gardens ; but in the 
narrow limits of a menagerie it is difficult to breed with success, 
and fresh blood is required from time to time ; there was formerly 
a herd at Hawkstone Park, Salop, the seat of Lord Hill ; but on 
journeying there a few years ago with the hope of seeing them, 
I regretted to find they had been given up some time previously ; 
an individual from this herd was exhibited at the London Cattle 
Show in 1867, the first introduction of the animal in the meat 
markets of Europe. There was also formerly a herd of the so-called 
Barbary Deer at Hawkstone, this is now regarded as merely a variety 
of the Bed Deer, noteworthy as the only Deer inhabiting Africa 
(Algeria and Tunis), introduced probably by the Carthaginians. 
In its native country, South and East Africa, the Eland is unfortu- 
nately sharing the fate of all the large animals of that continent, 
and unless stringent measures are taken for its preservation, it will 
soon become extinct ; it has also suffered, in common with other 
ruminants, from the rinderpest which has lately ravaged Africa from 
Abyssinia to the Cape. 
Happily attention is now being drawn to the need of protection 
for this and other game animals, and efforts have already been made 
by the setting apart of reserves and sanctuaries by the governments 
of the Cape and Natal, and the administrations of British Central 
and East Africa, so that there is some hope that the era of unlimited 
and unchecked destruction, even to extermination, has in a measure 
ceased, and some of these beautiful animals (beyond a few stuffed 
skins in museums) may be preserved for the benefit and admiration 
of posterity. 
