A GROTESQUE CREATURE THAT ONCE LIVED IN THE UNITED STATES (UERTATHERIUM
EOCENE, MIDDLE WYOMING)
It had six horns on the head and, in some species, two long canine
teeth projecting downward from the upper jaw. The feet were somewhat
like those of an elephant, but the skull and teeth resemble nothing on
earth today.]
On the large-game preserves are herds of buffalo, elk, deer, and
antelope. The Yellowstone National Park, under the Department of the
Interior, is one of the most wonderfully stocked game preserves in the
world. In this beautiful tract of forest, lakes, rivers, and mountains
live many moose, elk, deer, antelope, mountain sheep, black and grizzly
bears, wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, and lynxes.
Practically all of the States have game and fish commissions in one
form or another, with a warden service for the protection of game,
and large numbers of State game preserves have been established. The
increasing occupation of the country, the opening up of wild places,
and the destruction of forests are rapidly restricting available
haunts for game. This renders particularly opportune the present and
increasing wide-spread interest in the welfare of the habitants of the
wilderness.
The national forests offer an unrivaled opportunity for the protection
and increase of game along broad and effective lines. At present the
title to game mammals is vested in the States, among which great
differences in protective laws and their administration in many cases
jeopardize the future game supply.
If a coöperative working arrangement could be effected between the
States and the Department of Agriculture, whereby the Department would
have supervision and control over the game on the national forests,
so far as concerns its protection and the designation of hunting
areas, varying the quantity of game to be taken from definite areas
in accordance with its abundance from season to season, while the
States would control open seasons for shooting, the issuance of hunting
licenses, and similar local matters, the future welfare of large game
in the Western States would be assured.
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