A PRIMITIVE FOUR-TUSKED ELEPHANT, STANDING ABOUT SIX FEET AT THE
SHOULDER, THAT LIVED AGES AGO IN THE UNITED STATES (TRICOPHODON
MIOCENE)]
Fortunately, although it is too late to save many notable animals,
the leading nations of the world are rapidly awakening to a proper
appreciation of the value and significance of wild life. As a
consequence, while the superb herds of game on the limitless plains
will vanish, sportsmen and nature lovers, aided by those who appreciate
the practical value of wild life as an asset, may work successfully to
provide that the wild places shall not be left wholly untenanted.
Although Americans have been notably wasteful of wild life, even to
the extermination of numerous species of birds and mammals, yet they
are now leading the world in efforts to conserve what is left of
the original fauna. No civilized people, with the exception of the
South African Boers, have been such a nation of hunters as those of
the United States. Most hunters have a keen appreciation of nature,
and American sportsmen as a class have become ardent supporters of a
nation-wide movement for the conservation of wild life.