with. Last winter about 13 exhausted grebes and one loon were picked up,
cared for and finally shipped with tender care to the Zoological Park.
One distressed dovekie was picked up, but failed to survive.

The sentiment for the conservation of wild life has changed the mental
attitude of very many people. The old Chinese-Malay spirit which cries
"Kill! Kill!" and at once runs amuck among suddenly discovered wild
animals, is slowly being replaced by a more humane and intelligent
sentiment. This is one of the hopeful and encouraging signs of the
times.

The destruction of wild animals by natural causes is an interesting
subject, even though painful. We need to know how much destruction is
wrought by influences wholly beyond the control of man, and a few cases
must be cited.

RINDERPEST IN AFRICA.--Probably the greatest slaughter ever wrought upon
wild animals by diseases during historic times, was by rinderpest, a
cattle plague which afflicted Africa in the last decade of the previous
century. Originally, the disease reached Africa by way of Egypt, and
came as an importation from Europe. From Egypt it steadily traveled
southward, reaching Somaliland in 1889. In 1896 it reached the Zambesi
River and entered Rhodesia. From thence it went on southward almost to
the Cape. Not only did it sweep away ninety percent of the native cattle
but it also destroyed more than seventy-five per cent of the buffalos,
antelopes and other hoofed game of Rhodesia. It was feared that many
species would be completely exterminated, but happily that fear was not
realized. The buffalo and antelope herds were fifteen years in breeding
up again to a reasonable number, but thanks to the respite from hunters
which they enjoyed for several years, finally they did recover.