The first session of the Indian Board for Wild Life was held at Mysore from the 20th November to 1st December, 1952.

After the technical meeting of the International Union for the Protection of Nature, many of the participants and their wives were able to take part in the excursions arranged by the local organizing committee. On the afternoon of 18th September, we visited the Salzkammergut, a district east of Salzburg which could be compared to our lake district. Here is a network of beautiful lakes with steep wooded hills and sheer cliffs dropping to the blue water. At the Fuschl See, our first stop, Ribbentrop and Ciano had had many meetings during the war in the castle hotel overlooking the lake. The near-by pastures were covered with pale mauve meadow saffron, and beside the path we saw Gentiana germanica and a fine group of the shaggy ink cap fungus (Coprinus comatus). We went on to the Wolfgangsee and Mondsee, returning to Salzburg in the evening. Later my husband and I spent a few days on the shore of the Wolfgangsee and were able to explore at leisure.

With the tragic death, through a shooting accident, of the 12th Duke of Bedford on the 9th October, 1953, the Fauna Preservation Society has lost one of its most able members, for not only was he keenly interested in anything connected with the preservation of wild life, but at Woburn he was also actively engaged in preserving certain species of ruminants that might otherwise have been lost to mankind for ever.

It is encouraging to report that, except for some forms of less than specific rank, no animal of East Africa has become extinct and most species are still abundant. There is still time to save the interesting fauna in its natural habitat, provided reserves are chosen wisely.

In a foreword to the report Mr. R. Dreschfield, the Chairman, writes: “There has been steady and thorough work in the field of game preservation. The wardens have got to know their areas, have set up ranger posts, have practically stopped poaching, and have carried on considerable research into the game. This is our most important work and the work to which we, as trustees, are by law committed. The long title to the Ordinance which is the fount of our existence reads: ‘An Ordinance to provide for the Establishment of National Parks for the purpose of preserving Wild Animal Life, Wild Vegetation, and providing for other matters incidental thereto.’ Necessary, therefore, as it is to provide transport, accommodation, and observation facilities within the parks, we and the public must remember that these activities are only incidental to our main purpose.

There has this year been correspondence in the London Times about the possibility of creating a national park out of part of the Nyika Plateau; notably the letter from the Secretary of the Fauna Preservation Society, published on 6th April, 1953, and that from Sir George Stapledon on 10th April. The information below consists of a general account of the plateau and some more specialized notes, derived mainly from knowledge of the birds, with a view to indicating the faunistic isolation of the area.

The Mijeti Non-Shooting Area, in the north-west corner of the Chikwawa district of Nyasaland, comprises some 150–200 square miles of very broken and stony hill country clothed mostly with rather poor Brachystegia scrub, though small areas of bettergrown Brachystegia and Pterocarpus are to be found. The grass on the hills is seldom higher than about 3 feet, but in the dambos it often reaches a height of 8 to 10 feet. These “dambos” are open grassy glades which may be quite dry for half the year but which, owing to the high water-table during the rains, are almost treeless.

Our expedition to the Tana was a prelude to five months spent collecting birds and other small vertebrates of various kinds in Kenya and Uganda.

The period from 1942 till 1950.—During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, the damage to the protected fauna and flora was not catastrophic. The capture of animals for export came to a standstill and the possession of fire-arms was prohibited. Before the war, in Java alone, there were more than 60,000 registered hunting rifles, not to mention un-registered rifles. On the other hand illegal clearing of forest ran riot during the occupation and unlawful hunting without firearms became common. Nevertheless more damage to fauna and flora was done from 1945 till the end of 1949—that is after the Japanese occupation. But even this period of chaos and lack of the slightest spark of interest in nature conservation, did not lead to irreparable damage to game reserves or to wild life.

The tiny British colony of Seychelles lies in the midst of the Indian Ocean 900 miles east of Africa. The Islands are unique in being the only oceanic islands composed of continental rocks. They are fragments of a lost continent, a fact reflected in their possession of a whole group of archaic legless amphibians which have only survived as rare relics in the outside world. But besides these obscure creatures which are only of interest to the specialist, there are several other endemic species both of animals and plants, that have happily survived till the present time.

Game Scouts.—It is satisfactory to read that game scouts have been put on the same salary and terms of service as game guards. This has been done in order to enable the Department to enlist and keep good men in spite of the many temptations of their work. The work of game scouts, and there are only 20 of them for the whole Protectorate, is to enforce the preservation laws, whereas game guards are employed chiefly in game control.

The fourth General Assembly of the I.U.P.N. was held at Copenhagen from 25th August to 3rd September, 1954, under the presidency of Dr. C. J. Bernard, who may be called the founder of the Union. His term of office being over, he is succeeded by Professor Roger Heim of France. Delegates and observers came from the U.S.A., Japan, India, Peru, New Zealand, U.S.S.R. and nearly all European countries. Among the British delegation were Lord Hurcomb, President of the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves, Mr. Max Nicholson, Director-General of the Nature Conservancy, Dr. J. Berry, Director of the Nature Conservancy for Scotland, and Lieut.-Colonel C. L. Boyle, Secretary of the Fauna Preservation Society.

I think at this preliminary stage it would be appropriate if we set out the principles which will govern us in managing the National Parks on behalf of the public of the Protectorate. We, the Trustees, are not a tourist agency nor are we hotel keepers or a bus company. Our duty is to preserve the areas which have been set aside as National Parks as sanctuaries for wild life and as areas which in perpetuity can be preserved for the recreation primarily of the people of Uganda. The facilities which we may grant to tourists who wish to visit the Parks will be secondary to our main function. It should, however, be borne in mind that while these facilities are secondary they are important, as the tourist industry provides directly some of the revenue necessary for running the Parks and also brings money into the country and so provides revenue for the Protectorate Government, thus assisting it in making grants towards the upkeep of the Parks.

So little is known about the Nyika plateau that even the observations of an amateur may be of use in reaching a better understanding of this wonderful stretch of mountain country. I first visited the Nyika in 1950 and returned the following year with two colleagues, to investigate forestry possibilities. In July, 1952, we opened a camp and started a forestry pilot scheme. Our work has given us an exceptional opportunity to watch the game and study the flora and climate. Our camp, some 3½ miles south-east of Kaulime Pond, is at an altitude of 7,700 feet and stands in typical short-grass country near the headwaters of Chelinda River.

In the autumn of 1952 two wounded birds were flown to the Aransas Wildlife Refuge in Texas, U.S.A. Both were whooping cranes (Grus americana) and were suffering from shotgun wounds. Both subsequently died despite the best efforts of ornithologists.

Seldom would one think of going down a river by car, but it all depends on the river and on the car. “Bush-busting” with two four-wheel drive cars for 20 miles from Kimathena brought us to the palm-fringed banks of the Tiva—a dry water-course with a wide expanse of gleaming sand, washed white by successive rainy seasons.

Distribution of revenue from licence fees.—It was decided during the year that African local governments should receive a proportion of the revenue accruing from game licence fees to increase their interest in faunal matters, and thus encourage them to render greater assistance in. the preservation of game and the enforcing of the game laws.

A convention for the protection of the fauna and flora of Africa was drawn up at a conference held in London in 1933 and was ratified by almost all the Powers with possessions in Africa. Another conference took place about five years later, which recommended certain alterations in the convention, but owing to the war these were never carried into effect. Since then it has been obvious that the time for further action was overdue.

After my report was in print I received Bulletin No. 6 of the Commission de la Chasse en Montagne dated the 21st July, 1952. This bulletin contains a very interesting section on the game of Greece and, in particular, a report by M. Georges Livas on the Cretan wild goat and the goats on the island of Ghyaros (Ghiura), in the Northern Sporades, and on the island of Antimilos.

Reaction to the Presence of Man and of Tiger.—Bull seladang grazing in the open seldom raise their heads from the serious business of filling their maws, but leave watch-dog duties to the cows. The latter seldom keep their heads down long, and it is on this account that care must be taken when stalking a herd up wind in the open. Some cow almost always has her head up looking about. I say “looking about”, for they do not generally try the wind unless some strange or dangerous scent comes to them; then all, even the bulls, are on their toes. When an unfavourable wind is received they first throw up their heads and face into the wind, raising their noses; after a good inspiration in this position, they swing their heads sharply first to one side, then after a short pause to the other side, testing the wind. They may repeat this action several times before being certain. From this they are able to determine the direction in which any danger may lie. If it is a scent denoting the presence of man they hesitate not on the order of going, stampeding away from the dreaded scent for perhaps seventy or a hundred yards. After their initial rush they pull up for a short pause making sure the danger is not on their tails. If the danger is not so close, they slip quietly away at a fast walk; if the source of danger is not following they keep this up, perhaps, for several miles, before they pull up for a real breather, but still remain very wary.