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Show J. S. Guarding Wild Animals and Mammals I J of Alaska to Prevent a Game and Fur Famine I )vernment juts Stop to fllaugliter of Oi0alual)le Game, Olid Tkis Is acked ty tefnational 5 jgreement; Hi er and . ie5, saver Nearly actj j . fctmct; 2 Walrus Still H :entiful. I -j By Rene Bache HE Territory of Alaska this d; ; rflouth enters upon a new phase ' j of its existence. It becomes a j-'yast fjnnis preserve not, it will 1 idcrslood, for the benefit of sports-fi, sports-fi, lor for nny privileged class of ns, but for the use of the nation 3 chief reason why this transfer-itnl transfer-itnl m is effected, under direction by ia 'PES 'stliat th game animals and 18 Jin'ng mnniuials of our Arctic jjjj! hec Iiae been seriously threatened ' extermination by ruthless hunt-Not hunt-Not only are the fur seals nearly Otil jbut the sea otters :re nil but cx-' cx-' ; the beaver are in imminent dan-i dan-i if being wiped out entirely, and . : rubor fur bearers ns the land ot-t ot-t :he m.-rten. the mink, the fibber, 2bc. the weasel, the muskrat, tho .'the wildrat, and the ermine are rt urgent need of protection. ;- licrto these smaller fur-bearing im ls have looked for administrative iw !tion to the Treasury Department, .lias done nothing for them whnt- i I The principal trouble with the KDJ hnimals of Alaska, indeed, has ii tlint the business of looking out ' licai has been distributed nmong 111 executive Departments, with oc-lal oc-lal interior.: noe from the White AH of this is now changed. , 3 this date tho Biological Survey Wic Department of Agricuture) will il Hie nilairs of the game animals - luniage birds, mid the fur-bearing . 1 'res will be under the management m' i Fisheries Bureau tu fy Penalties iccfonvard no fur-bearing animal eSiJ Y species will be allowed to be Ml or taken in the Territory, under siie ; penalty of fine and jail save ' juuh as the Fisheries Hnrcau per-;iniilcr per-;iniilcr certain conditions, to be ta or shot. The sea otter is not U '"""tj-'d at all for nine years to ?n(t tllc heaver not for four years. I- s , ' Mow ttcr o-J)2?JZ3 . Suitable closed seasons will be established estab-lished by the Fisheries Bureau for mink, muskral, ermine, and the other minor mammals already mentioned. This is simply a new move in the direction di-rection of conservation. It is desired, largely for the sake of the fur trade, to prevent the extermination of the native Alaskan mammals, and even to encourage encour-age their increase. How far such creatures crea-tures arc capable of maintaining their numbers with an.y sort of show for survival sur-vival is illustrated by the fact that in the Hudson Bay region, exploited as it has been by the fur companies for centuries, cen-turies, the abundance of most of tho valuable fur-bearers is as great as ever. Five Game Ward ens Vive game wardens will be appointed to look after tho fur-beariug animals in Alaska. Their duty will be, (1) to enforce en-force the regulations; (2) to study tho habits, geographical distribution" and abundance, food, natural enemies, and particularly the breeding seasons of the various animals concerned; and (3) to collect specimens of them in each fur-producing fur-producing region throughout the year. It might .be said that the capable performance per-formance of such comprehensive duties would demand the services of first-class field naturalists, and such is in fact the case. Tho men selected for these places will be clever young fellows who hav developed a talent for natural history his-tory in this special line, and will be glad to accept moderate pay with the opportunities afforded for study in a part of the world that is comparatively little known from a zoological standpoint. stand-point. Thcy will have to be good practical taxidermists,' in order to collect the requisite specimens this being a matter mat-ter of great importance. For here is a part of the year during which each fur-bearing fur-bearing mammal is in poor condition, its skin being more or less shabby. Obviously, Ob-viously, the killing of the species, whatever what-ever it may be, ought to be prohibited during this period. As 3'et, however, it is not known just what those seasons of poor condition are; and thcy vary not ouly with the kind of animal, but also with the region. But suppose that a warden is stationed sta-tioned for one or two years in the ro-giou ro-giou of the headwaters of the Yukon River, ire collects in each month a dozen specimens of each kind of fur-bonring fur-bonring animal. At the end of a twelvemonth, when these specimens are spread out on u table, it can be aeon at a glance .inst what is the period dur- ing which each species ought not to bo allowed to be killed. Biggest of All Bears With a view to giving tho best possible possi-ble protection to the various animals concerned, it is important to know as much as possible about their abundance, geographical distribution, natural enemies, ene-mies, and food. But most necessary of all it is to be acquainted with their breeding season, and to learn how old their young must bo .before thcy are able to take care of themselves and got along without their parents. Such information, in-formation, as this has an obvious bearing bear-ing upon the determination of open and closed seasons. For the management of all such affairs af-fairs a new division of the Fisheries Bureau has been created, called the Alaska Fisheries Survey, with Dr. B. W. Kvennan as its chief. It will have clutrge of the fur-seals, all tho minor fur-bearers, the beaver, the sea otter, and the black and certain oilier bears. The great Kadiak bear, however, is, by a curious freak of law-making, placed under the direction of the Biological Survey. It is the largest of all known spocies of bears, and quite numerous on tlie island of Kadiak and the neighboring neighbor-ing mainland. So far as game animals and fur-bearers are concerned, the Territory from this timo on will be controlled as absolutely ab-solutely as if it were a vast zoological park. All shipments of skins from that quarter will have to be reported to the Bureau of Fisheries. And in this connection it should be mentioned that considerable quantities of pells are sent out by mail. But the Postoffico Depart- mcnt has instructed every postmaster in iH Alaska that henceforth, whenever a package of skins is offered for mailing, ijH the shipper -hall be required to fill out blank, stating the number of each kind. Tho postmaster must certify to the accuracy of the blatcmeut, which he 11 thereupon forwards to the Fisheries Bu- 111 reau at Washington. fll International Aid ;iH The conference iu which Great Brit- IH a in, .lapan, Jlusia and the United ll States have recently been engaged has ' H meanwhile worked out a sort of inter- j H national agreement for the protection j H of marine animals. It establishes n . H gunrdianship not onlv over the fur ! H seals, but also over the walrus, the sea H otter, the sea elephant, and certain I H species of whales. j H Thus there is an excellent prospect J H that these valuable creatures will bo j H preserved for the benefit and use of ! H future generations of mankind. It was j H decided that nothing- should be done in i IH behalf of the sea-lions, even to the ex- H tent of establishing a dosed season, be- , i H cause these huge animals (a giant spc- ' H cics of seal, weighing 1,000 pounds HI when full-grown) do not really need (il projection, nearly all the existing rook III cries being on islands controlled for lighthouse purposes by the Treasury ' I Department. Tf this were not so, thcy , H would have been exterminated long ago II for the sake of their skins and whisk- ers. - ill Sea Elephants jl Only one herd of ea elephants re- jil mains, numbering about 150. on Guadn- lupe Island, off the west coast of Mexico ' I the sole survivors of a once mighty jl H race which extended from Santa Barbara, Cal down the shores of South America. H They are beautiful crcnturcs. rcachlns: e a length of sixteen feet. Seven live ones are now at the New York aquarium, ' H Happily. It appears, that the, walrus are t by no means so near to extinction as had H been supposed. Herds numbering tens of -H thousands have recently been seen, and I reports Indicate that the sneclos Is In- -ifl creasing numerically. Nevertheless. j i H ruthless destruction of these valuable anl- H mals by whalers has brought death and ! H fearful suffering to many Eskimos, de- ijjH nendlnr as the latter largely do upon the Ml flesh of the walrus for food. Its oil for F -H Htrht and heat. Its skin for covering boats. r, Its Intestines for waterproof clothing and 'j its tusks and bones for spearheads and ) H many other useful articles. The bio- ' Iocrical survey from now on will allow ! walrus huntinc only from May 1 to July "IS 1 In Bering sea and strait north of the ji ) Kuskuwlrn rlvjr. and not at all south of 'ill that stream until next year. Natives. y however, are permitted to kill the beasts i I at any time for food and clothing r Few Sea Ottsr f The sea otter is so near to extcrmlna- tlon that not more than two or threa j dozen of Its skins arc obtained annually i In all Alaska But these, are the most , valuable nelts in the world, belns worth ji about $1000 .aolcqe. Huntlnc for this anl- 1 mal Is carried on chiefly between Chlrl- f kof arid Tucldek Islands. In central Alas- 5 Vn. Encland. Russia. Japan and the 5 United States have agreed to protect It f, on tho high seas, beyond the three-mile limit and, with the new retaliation for- ?. blddlncr the killing of It in the. territory J until 3920, , there seems to be hope for the i, survival of the snectes. , The most valuable fur-bearing aquatic f mammal found In the Interior waters of Alaska Is the beaver, which haa been hunted with such vigor that Its final ex- J tlnction could not lontr have been de- E H ferrcd. Ita ranpe covers all the main- f H land of. the territory except a" barren strip H along the Arctic ocean. The natives g catch beavers In steel trans at frcqucnfetl j! 9K spots, or shoot them from concealed WM plncp.s near the beaver houses or dams- v i KB While other Alaska animals have been H recklessly exterminated, comparatively hi little attention has been paid by hunters I H to the hair seals, because they are not I1 JH fur-bearers in a proper sense, and their C flf pelts have no market value worth men- f; Honing. Thus todav thev arc found all ; H along the coast of Alaska. In almost M countless numbers in some places -fortu- rjtH nntcly for the natives, to whom they are ilSi of Immense Importance, their flesh and oil ftirnlshlncr great quantities of winter ?fl food, while their skins arc highly prized H for coat-covers, boot-soles, trousers, ntlt- 9HI tens, caps, etc. Incidentally the natives In barter the meat, oil and hides with In- ) terlor tribes for furs and reindeer prod- JflB |