National Zoological Park Expedition to LiberiaAuthor(s): William M. MannSource: The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 50, No. 4 (Apr., 1940), pp. 377-379Published by: American Association for the Advancement of ScienceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/16919 .

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THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE 377

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ANTARCTI:C CONTI:NENT IN 1939 SHOWING AMERIC'AN DISCOVERIES. THE IMPOR-

TANT DISCOVERIES BY ADMIR.AL BYRD DURING

FEBRUARY, 1940, ARE IN THE AREA MARKED v vUNEXPLORED COAST."n

these speakers including Ekblaw, of the MeMillan Expedition; Lee, who was Peary 's companion on the crossing of Greenland in 1895; Stefansson and Cap- tain Bob Bartlett. General Brainard, sole survivor of the Greely Expedition and now eighty-four years of age, was to have treated the Greely Expedition and the Farthest North of Lockwood and Brainard, but an attack of influenza prevented his attendance. Commander Ellsburgh, U.S.N.R., discussed "The Drift of the Jeannette in the Arctic Sea." Captain Bartlett spoke o01 the "Extended Exploration of Arctic Lands by Peary," which culminated in the attainment of the North Pole in 1909.

The papers presented at the centenary are to be published in a spe(ial cen- tenary volume of the Proceedings of the society. WILLIAM H. HOBBS

NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK EXPEDITION TO LIBERIA

THROUGH the generosity of Harvey Firestone, an expedition has been ar- ranged for the purpose of penetrating the jungles of Liberia to collect wild animals. This expedition, which I have the honor to head, sailed from New York on February 14 on the S.S. West Kebar, and by the tinme this article is prilited, will be in Liberia, to stay fromn three to five months.

The Firestonies have long been inter- ested in the national zoo, the late Harvey S. Firestone having presented a pygmy hippopotamus to it about 13 years ago. Harvey S. Firestone, Jr., gave the zoo a Liberian potto, an unusual animal about the size of a kitten; alnd other animals have been sent to us from the Firestone plantations from time to time.

On a trip of this kincd one can never tell what one is going to get; the results are absolutely unprophesiable. Sinee there is hardly anything at all in the Zoological Park or the National Museum

from Liberia, anything we get will be valuable to one or the other of these in- stitutions. I have received innumerable letters from persons who desire to obtain animals for experiment, such as birds for anatomical studies, land or fresh-water shrimp, etc. I expect to find many species of animals, birds and reptiles which have never been taken into captiv- ity, as well as other species which are rare in this country.

There are over 100 different kinds of animals in Liberia, many of them distinct from those in other parts of Africa. The pygmy hippopotamus, as far as I know, is found only in Liberia, although some travelers have reported that it occurs also in the next colony, Sierra Leone. Liberia lacks, however, a lot of the ani- mals found in other parts of Africa, such as the giraffe, hippopotamus and rhinoceros. This absence is, however, made up by the presence of other ani- mals. Liberia has never been an animal-

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378 THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY

hunting country like the other countries of Africa.

Among the animals which I am par- ticularly anxious to bring back alive are pygmy elephants, pygmy hippopota- muses, red bush cows, zebra antelopes, harnessed antelopes, bongos, flyinig squir- rels and a number of species of cats, such as the West African forest leopard, the golden cat, as well as the fine-spotted serval and the blue serval-large wild cats having long legs ancd large untufted ears. We shall also seek the chevrotain. or water deer, which standls about 12 inches high at the shoulder and lives ir the marshes.

Brilliant and unusually beautiful birds are to b1e found in Liberia, including the Tourocou, with unwashable feathers which hold their colors, and kingfishers I want, too, to bring back such birds as hornbills, sunbirds, lovebirds, barbets

black and white crows and interesting storks and cranes.

There are a nnmber of reptiles in. Liberia: the snbterranean python, two big vipers (the gabooln andl rhinoceros viper) and several kinds of cobras. Chameleons are always an exciting cateh, but they have a difficult time surviving the trip home. An interesting box- turtle, with a hinge in the back of its shell, land snails six inches long, many insects andl waters full of fish help pre- sent an interesting outlook for the trip. I am taking seines in the hope of catch- ing seldom-seen fish-a few of which I may be suecessful in getting all the way back home. I hope to obtain a complete collection of the fauna.

Accompanying me on this trip are Mrs. Manni, who is also familiar with wild animals, Ralph B. Norris and Roy Jenl- nier, animnal keepers at the national zoo.

Courtesy Acmne Newspictures

TRACING THE ROUTE OF THE SMITHSONIAN EXPEDITION INTO AFRICA

DR. CHARLES G. ABBOT, SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION; HARVEY S. FIRESTONE, JR.,

SPONSOR OF THE EXPEDITION; DR. WILLIAM M. MANN AND MRS. ATANN.

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TH-E PROGRESS OFl SCIENCE 379

Our equipment illeludes ready-made cages which telescope within each other, the last cage containing traps alid bird seed. Concentrated cod-liver oils and powdered milk are necessary for baby animals, alid even Mellin 's baby food and honey for certain little birds. We carry a motion picture camera in hopes of getting good- pictures of the animals as well as of the natives.

Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, is our landing place, with headquarters at the Harvey Firestone plantation. Perhaps

it will be possible to establish a little national zoo here, as we did in East Africa and India.

While I have permits from the govern- ment giving me full authority to go out, take these aniimals and bring them home, it is not quite so easy as that sounds, because the animals caan lHot read the permits and do not always offer full co- operation.

WILLIAM M. MANN,

Director NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK

IMPORTANCE OF GRASSLAND RESERVES

AN illustrateed article by Dr. Victor C. Cahalane, entitled "A Proposed Great Plaiins National Mlonument," describing a typical grassland region, will be printed in one of the fortheoming issues of THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY.

It is estimated that about 40 per cent. of the area of the United States repre- sents original climatic grassland. It is likely that our dependence upon the grassland areas of the world will become greater instead of less as time goes on. Coneerninig their fulndamental economlic importance to mankind there can be no question.

This eircumstance has tended to ae- celerate their exploitatioln, at the same time that it brings into sharp relief our need to understand them better than we do. Because good grasslalnd is richly productive when first exploited, it has passed through a cycle of mining and destruction quite comparable to that suf- fered by the virgin forest. One who is not trained to distinguish changes in vegetation strueture or floristic compo- sition can not realize this as readily as he can understland the meaning of cut- over or burned-over forest land. To-day it is increasingly difficul-t to find areas giving an ade(uate picture of original grassland comnmunities. To such an ex-

tent is this true that there are still to be found sharp differenees of opinion re- garding the proper nomenclature of some of the grassland communities.

What is true of the vegetation is of course even more true of those other con- stituents of the grassland communities- their native aniimals. In the opinion of the animal ecologists who have been ad- vising the Natiolnal Research Council, it is necessary to have undisturbed areas of colsiderable extent, suitably buffered by additional natural areas, in order to achieve anything like the necessary restoration of the natural plant and animal interrelationship.

The layman might perhaps infer that an elnterprise of this kind is largely seiiti- mental or of such remote practical im- port as to represelit self-indulgence for iliterestecl scielitists. That such an enter- prise would have many intangibLe values is niot to be questionied, but in addition results that are direct, important and practical may be expected to follow the establishment and study of extensive natural grassland areas.

On some continents, once-productive grassland regions will no longer support human communities. There is ample evidence that this could happen in North America. If we are to forestall

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