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. \\ t are passing through an important awakening 
as to the value of wild animals and yet we have no generally recog- 
nised policy for the management of animal sanctuaries because zve 
knozv 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 actiz'itics of the living animal 
and its relation to the real ZL'orld i)i z>.'hich it liz'es. 
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