Marsupials.

Hokitika Guardian, 30 July 1921, Page 4

Marsupials.

DANIiKU OF KNTKKMINATIOX ZOOLOGIST'S PL 15A. “Thousands nay, miliums of thc-e mammals are slaughtered every year for their skins. In one auction sale at St. Louis there were offered half a million marsupial skins, consisting of two kinds of opossums.” Dr. W, K. Gregory, of Columbia l niversity, and an eminent authority on marsupials made this statement in a lecture given in the Australian museum on Thursday night on “Australian Marsupials and Why They are Worth Protecting.” Dr Gregory is paying a special visit to Australia m behalf of the American Museum of Natural History of New Aork, which is preparing for the estabishmem of a big hall devoted exclusively to 'Australian birds and animals.

In introducing Dr. Gregory, Dr. P. Storie Dixson, president of the board of trustees of the Australian Museum, expressed the fear that it would not bt> long be forte many specimens of marsupials would entirely disappear, and that the only representatives would be found in the American Museum of Natural History. That a similar fear is entertained by Dr. Gregory is shown by his remark, quoted above. He added that he had also been informed that 10,000 skins a, day were brought into Brisbane from all quarters after the season opened. A friend had also informed him that he had seen “000 kangaroo skins on a dray which were the product of a couple of months’ hunting. “Such slaughter.” added Dr Oregon-, “cannot go on at this rate without exterminating these marsupials. There are other factors aiding in their destruction such as hush fires and rabbit poison. This) wholesale exterjmnntion of native animals is not necessary nor inevitable if proper means tire taken to prevent it. The rule is that you cannot eat your cake and have it, but if you have a forest or country full of native animals you can do both. You can draw your tribute of furs and yet preserve the race and keep some to breed ”

Dr Gregory said his object was to show- why these marsupials were worth protecting from a scientific point of view. When Captain Cook first brought back to England the skins of of marsupials, said Dr Gregory, the naturalists of the old world thought they belonged to plneentals, and classed the kangaroo along with the jumping hare, the mouse-like marsupials wnh the oil-world mouse, the squirrel-like marsupials with the flying squirrels of the northern world and they put the wombat with the heaver. It was afterwards discovered that this was not a natural classification, Hit that, although so very diverse -all those Australian forms belonged io a single great group, and that the plaeentals ol the northern world belonged to their own great group. That was one ol the main facts illustrated by Australian marsupials. There was the common plan underlying the great diversity el external appearances. Zoologists h <1 come to the conclusion that this was evident c of descent. Doiii a common ancestry. This was one of the scientific aspects of the marsupials which seemed to make it worth while to protect th'-m and save them for the study of future generations.