ANIMAL CENSUS.

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19884, 13 May 1936, Page 9

ANIMAL CENSUS.

MONKEYS A PROBLEM. ELEPHANTS & LION INCREASE. LONDON, April 24. The monkey is the despair of the census-taker. This is one of the many interesting facts indicated in the Journal of the Society for the Preservation of the Fauna of the Empire, just issued, says a special corerspondent of the Daily Telegraph. In a report by Captain C. R. S. Pitman on Northern Rhodesia there is a detailed attempt to give the numbers of wild animals there. But the enum~ erntors confess that ”no estimate has been attempted of baboons and monkeys.” The “amazing progressive increase" of buffaloes is commented upon. Their total is put at 60,000. and their growth is described as a disquieting feature of the game situation. In the report of the Uganda Protectorate, too, the prolific buffalo is shown to be a serious threat to economic development. Many other wild animals are reported to be on the increase. In Uganda, the lion, the hippopotamus, and the elephant are flourishing excessively. Poisoned Potatoes for Pigs. The bush pig is such an unmiti—gated nuisance in this protectorate that the use of poison gas is frequently advocated as a check to his marauding propensities. But this method is too costly and calls for great care in application, so the most practical way of'luring the pig to his doom has been found to be by means of poisoned potatoes, for which he has a great passion. - A most gentlemanly fellow, according to an account by Capt. H. ' C. Brockenhurst, is the giant panda of North-West China. He subsists entirely on bamboo stalks, but scrupulously preserves the very thin stalks and the leaves for his spouse.‘ This correct conduct in matrimonial life is an appropriate sequel to this noble animal‘s courtship. During the mating season the male utters a kind of roar for three or four days in succession. During this time, the natives say, the female climbs into a tree, and the male remains on the ground.