The whaling industry and its raw material, the whale stocks of the world, continue their grim Totentanz towards their mutual extinction. The most significant event of the 27th meeting of the International Whaling Commission in London in June, and one of the least publicised, was the Soviet announcement that next season they would have only two instead of three Antarctic expeditions. And, in fulfilment of the classic Parkinsonian theory, the IWC is about to get itself a full-time secretary and new offices in Cambridge just as the industry which provides its raison d'être has reached the brink of the precipice of its final decline. For the most significant event of all was one which was ignored at the meeting: the current experiments by Norway, West Germany, and other nations into the harvesting of krill. Since harvesting the top of the food chain is always the most uneconomic method of using natural resources, it may well be that in human terms it is more economic for men rather than whales to feed on krill. But there can be no doubt that a thoroughgoing effort to harvest krill would mean the virtual end of the whaling industry, by depriving the great baleen whales of their food. But this prospect did not seem sufficiently real to the IWC mandarins to warrant their discussing it—again a classic reaction to imminent extinction.

After a preliminary survey in 1974 the author suggests that the outlook for the radiated tortoise in southern Madagascar is not entirely gloomy, thanks to traditional taboos on eating its flesh, improved government controls on exports, and import restrictions in other countries. Its future depends on the survival of some natural habitat; at the same time, he suggests, modern agricultural developments may be indirectly beneficial.

The first part of Dr Verschuren's survey of Zaïre's wildlife, which appeared in the last issue of Oryx, April 1975, surveyed the main wildlife areas and described the conservation policy of the Zaïre Government under President Mobutu Sese Seko, one of the most forward-looking and conservation-minded governments in Africa. This second article discusses the status of the major large mammals. The author concludes that, largely because Zaïre has maintained very large areas of forest intact, the wildlife situation on the whole is good. Most encouraging is the fact that the highest authorities in Zaïre appreciate the value of their wildlife heritage. The photographs in this article are by the author.

After seven years' study, visiting islands scattered over more than a million square miles of the western Indian Ocean, where once hundreds of thousands of green turtles nested every year, the author?'s “optimistic estimate” of the number of females nesting today is 5500. Only eighty years ago 12,000 were taken in one year on Aldabra alone. Over-exploitation by man for food – both of nesting females and eggs – and destruction of nesting habitat, i.e. disturbance of the beaches, are the two factors that are destroying this immensely valuable resource. The author's study was assisted by FPS.

As a result of a count of elephant, giraffe, zebra and ostrich in the Kidepo Valley National Park, made in February 1975, the author, who is Director of the Uganda Institute of Ecology, concludes that, despite some fluctuations, especially among giraffes, the numbers were fairly typical for the dry season.

A questionnaire survey to investigate the grass snake's status in Britain showed that, while in some areas it was still abundant, in others it had declined and continued to do so, mainly through habitat destruction and collecting. The author concludes that, because of its special habitat requirements, this snake could easily become an endangered species in Britain, unlike the adder which can occupy many marginal habitats.

At Uda Walawe in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) a group of about thirty elephants have become isolated in a small pocket of jungle as a result of large-scale agricultural development. There is not sufficient food for them and they are completely surrounded by farms. Inevitably they raid the fields at night, and are shot at by the farmers; some are injured, have become dangerous and killed people. Forced to act, the Wildlife Department has been trying to move them. The author, who is resident Veterinary Officer at Whipsnade Park in England, assisted with the second removal, and here describes how it was done and some of the problems.

The guanaco, a wild South American camel, like the vicuña, is not on the IUCN endangered list, but numbers have decreased steadily, and it is on Peru's list of endangered species. The author, who describes a brief study of the largest population in Peru, suggests that protective measures are needed.

The Italian grey partridge Perdix p. italica is in danger of extinction. It has been overhunted and stocks have been polluted by the importing and release of other subspecies. The author urges that the few small flocks of the pure native bird known to survive should be located and given strict protection.

The Nilgiri tahr Hemitragus hylocrius, a wild goat confined to mountain tops along the Western Ghats in southern India, is listed in the IUCN Red Data Book of endangered species on the basis of surveys made by the author. In 1963 he organised the first tahr census for the Nilgiri Wild Life Association, of which he was Hon. Superintendent, and since then has made surveys in the Grass Hills (in the Anamallais) and the High Range (Eravikulam) in Kerala and Kodayar (Tamil Nadu). In 1972/73, sponsored by the Fauna Preservation Society, he made the population studies in the upper Palani Plateau, and the Highwavy Mountains, both in Madurai District in Tamil Nadu, described in this article. In both areas he found tahr numbers seriously reduced, and the main causes to be poaching and habitat destruction. In March this year the Kerala State Government declared the Eravikulam/Rajmallay/Animudi area a sanctuary, which brings most of the range of the tahr under protection. But enforcing the protection may be more difficult, and it remains to be seen whether the tahr were better protected by the High Range Game Association, who protected the largest tahr population from poaching in the interests of their members' strictly limited hunting. Photographs in this article are by the author.