Early in 1969, at the request of the Director of Uganda Nationa Parks, Dr. Cott made a third survey of the status and biology of the Nile crocodile on the Victoria Nile below Murchison Falls, continuing the field studies he made in 1967 and 1968. This report on his 1969 work supplements that on the earlier studies (see ORYX, September, 1968) and reinforces his previous findings and recommendations. In 1969 the crocodiles again lost many eggs to predators, and the main cause was still human disturbance—by poachers and tourist launches. Once again, Dr. Cott urges that tourist launches must be kept away. The FPS is supplying a leaf-let to be given to all tourists explaining why.

More than 300,000 tortoises are exported every year from Morocco to Britain for pets. To find out the effect of this trade on the populations in the wild, the author, aided by a grant from the FPS/WWF Revolving Fund, searched the known tortoise areas in Morocco, weighing and measuring all he found. In his six weeks in the field he found only 23 tortoises. For the country as a whole he estimates numbers to be of the order of five million, a very thin spread over a large area of ground. But the trade may have a more serious effect than just reducing numbers. Because only tortoises of 4–6 inches (under-shell measurement) are wanted, the collectors concentrate on these, which often leaves small mature males to mate with very large mature females. If they are unable to do so it could seriously affect reproduction rates.

Eighteen million hunters are the backbone of the wildlife conservation movement in the USA. Wildlife is for use, for sport and for food, and they demand that it be conserved. As a result many species which, sixty years ago, were on the verge of extinction are once again numerous in the wild. One state alone estimates its deer population at 2¾ million. Under harvesting is often the problem now, and a new attitude to predators is emerging. The author is a member of the Office of Endangered Species/International Activities in the US Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife.

The Nakuru hartebeest is virtually extinct. Only one male survives thanks to thoughtless slaughter. This article consists of extracts from a report to the Kenya Game Department by the author, then at University College, Nairobi, ending with a note by him on the scientific reason for conserving subspecies such as this hartebeest.

In Zambia's main wildlife areas, such as the Luangwa valley and the Kafue national park, the black rhinoceros populations are now stable and in some places even increasing—a striking reversal of the pre-war situation. Provided effective control can be maintained by the Department of Game and Fisheries, the author, who is a member of the department, suggests that there is no reason why they should not continue to thrive.

A 70-acre granite island in the Seychelles with a remarkable bird population, Cousin Island was bought last year for a wildlife reserve by the ICBP (International Council for Bird Preservation) and a warden installed. Tony Beamish, who has made an excellent film of the island's wildlife, describes some of the changes.