Fauna Series No. 1 Cover Contents Foreword Approach Methods Analysis Conspectus Suggested Policy

Fauna of the National Parks of the United States PROBLEMS OF COMPETITIVE ORIGIN ANIMALS HARMFUL TO MAN A very few park animals are dangerous to human life. A few more are merely offensive. More often, animals are injurious to property or to some special landscape feature needing special protection. In nearly every instance the damage occurs only under certain conditions and no species except certain poisonous reptiles are to be considered dangerous at all times. Whenever it is necessary to act at all, man's retaliation should be governed by a full realization that his ultimate interest in the park is best served by preserving its fauna intact. Therefore, first and always, some means should be sought which will give protection against the damage without hurting the status of the animal which caused it. If fish-eating animals, woodpeckers, bears, deer, elk, beavers, skunks, wood rats, and others were destroyed whenever they were a nuisance, the parks would be comfortable surely, but they would resemble city, more than national parks. NEXT> UNUSUAL DAMAGE TO LANDSCAPE (10)

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