Among the domestic pets kept in the towns of England, the cat probably tops the list so far as numbers go. But unlike other domesticated animals its association with man has been relatively short and, in spite of the mouse-catching propensities of some breeds, domestication was in this case only in part guided by economic considerations.

The Serengeti National Park.—The Park boundaries have at last been agreed. For some time it seemed that the whole park was in jeopardy except the Ngorongoro Craters and the adjacent highlands; all the rest it was suggested should be called a “National Reserve” in which settlement by man would be allowed. This proposal, made to include in the Park only those areas to which no one whatever would take exception, spelt its doom. Another proposal, made in order to give the Wasakuma tribe the maximum possible area for expansion in the southwest, was for the boundary of the Park to run from Victoria Nyanza along some sixty miles of the Mbalageti River, and then turn southwards. This would have been equally fatal as it is just this stretch of the river which is essential to the animals in the plains, when they migrate westwards in the dry season.

We left Kismayu by safari truck on the morning of 3rd March, 1950, with the intention of touring the district up to the Kenya border.

We decided to take the Afmadu road, but saw only Dik-Dik on the way, mostly of the greyish Kirk's variety although a few pairs of the prettier Phillips's Dik-Dik were to be seen also. These beautifully-proportioned tiny antelope multiply rapidly in dry bush country such as this, in spite of their many enemies. I have surprised hawks and eagles on a dik-dik “kill” on occasions, and by the neat hole in their skull it has been only too obvious how they were struck down.

An Official Report has reached us on a Conference of Authorities on Australian Fauna and Flora held at Hobart, Tasmania, from 7th to 9th December, 1949. This conference was convened by the Animals and Birds Protection Board of Tasmania, a member of our Society. All States except Queensland were represented.

In 1948, by Act of Parliament, New South Wales established a Fauna Protection Panel for the care and protection of her native fauna. The Panel consists of 14 members including the Chairman, Mr. F. J. Griffiths, who has the title of Chief Guardian of Fauna. The Deputy Chairman is Mr. E. J. Hallstrom, President of the Taronga Zoological Park Trust. The Sydney University is represented by its Professor of Zoology. There is one member representing rural interests. The Linnean Society and Royal Zoological Society are represented. The Wild Life Protection Society of Australia is represented by its Honorary Secretary, Mr. A. A. Strom.

Wild Life Protection.—The first wild life protection law in Malaya was passed in 1884 when Strait Settlements Ordinance No. III gave protection to wild birds; nothing further was done until 1896 when Pahang extended certain protection to Elephant, Seladang, and Rhinoceros. Other States followed with various measures but conservation was not put on a practical footing until 1921 when the Federated Malay States Wild Animals and Birds Protection Enactment was introduced. From then on a Game Department was in being, though much of the work was performed by honorary game wardens; among them the late Mr. Theodore Hubback.

Bunyoro and Gulu.—On the whole this reserve continues to be well stocked particularly in the vicinity of the River Nile. That parts of it are still poached is unquestionable, but it is a moot point whether a conspicuous, local shortage of kob and hartebeest is due to poaching or to the depredations of lions. Baboons in the Murchison Falls Nile region have shown an astonishing increase in recent years which is almost certainly attributable to the widespread harrying to which the skin-valuable leopard has been subjected. Hippopotamus poaching in the Nile has by no means ceased, and the remote control which is only possible cannot be really effective. Authentic reports have been received of several buffaloes having been killed by lions.

The Gir Forest in Kathiawar is the last home of the Asiatic lion. Up to the beginning of the last century the lion inhabited all suitable parts of north and central India, but the introduction of modern firearms and the spread of population led to its disappearance by 1884 from everywhere except Kathiawar. Even within Kathiawar the lions retired to the protection of the Gir Forest, except for irregular visits as far afield as the Barda Hills. This forest in southern Kathiawar in 1878 covered 1,200 square miles, but its area is now reduced by half. Much of it is thick forest of the mixed deciduous type, with teak predominating, but the undergrowth is fairly thin, allowing grazing of cattle and buffaloes throughout most of the area. In the eastern Gir there is grassland and scrubby bushes, including several kinds of acacia.

The last mention of the famous herd of Chillingham Cattle in the Journal of this Society was made in Part XVI published in April, 1932. At that time an appeal was being launched by three Trustees appointed for the purpose by the Council of the Zoological Society of London; and a lease for seven years at a rental of £500 per annum of the Park at Chillingham Castle in Northumberland was taken from the Earl of Tankerville, with the object of preserving the cattle. The present Earl, who succeeded to the title in 1931, was unable to maintain the herd at his own expense owing to the heavy and ever increasing burden of taxation. The Zoological Society of London contributed £100 annually for seven years, and the rest was found by public subscriptions.

The inspiration of most recent thought upon National Parks springs from the work done in 1933 at the London Conference for the Protection of African Fauna and Flora. The definition there adopted for the term “National Park” was, shortly, that it should mean an area placed under public control and set aside for the protection of wild animal life and wild vegetation, for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public. From this definition, already shortened, it is important to extract the object for which a National Park is formed and for which it is maintained. This object is the protection of wild life. It is not the enjoyment of the general public, for that is a different thing altogether, a result following the attainment of the object.

I have not been without experience of this beautiful beast for, when living at Coimbatore, I had a youngster living in my back verandah in amity with my cats and dogs for a short period but the time came when I had to go to camp and I felt that I must part with him. So off he went to the zoo and I heard no more of him.

The second session of the General Assembly of the International Union for the Protection of Nature was held in the Institut de Sociologie, Leopold Park, Brussels, from 18th to 23rd October, 1950, the first having been held two years previously at Fontainebleau, immediately after the establishment of I.U.P.N. The United Kingdom was represented by Dr. G. F. Herbert Smith (Leader), Miss P. Barelay-Smith, Dr. John Berry, Captain Keith Caldwell, Mr. A. B. Duncan, Dr. F. C. Fraser, and Dr. J. Ramsbottom. Thirty-four countries and twelve international organizations were represented. The President and Secretary-General were Dr. Ch. J. Bernard and Mr. J. P. Harroy who hold corresponding offices in the Union.