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They Dined on Eland: the Story of the Acclimatisation Societies by Christopher Lever

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They Dined on Eland: the Story of the Acclimatisation Societies by Christopher Lever BOOK REVIEWS unfolded before him, and show cation, naturalization and Acclimatisation Society, which his unusual ability to disen- adaptation to feral living. The lasted for 7 years, and spawned tangle salient facts as he saw author's definition, with which offspring in Australia, New them and reassemble them so I agree, is 'grown or become Zealand, the United States and that he could give considered habituated to a new climate', even Hawaii. What did the opinions and advice to those whether or not the animal or Society achieve? Precious little, who sought them - little of plant in question has become it seems, for it was criticized for which, sadly, was ever acted naturalized, i.e. has become an not having made one single upon. independent population in the useful addition to our fauna, There is no doubt that Fraser wild, unaided by man. and this is why it faded out so Darling was one of the most Acclimatization was a typical soon. Dining on eland proved important ecologists of the activity of our vigorous and to be an insufficient basis for a twentieth century. The editor experimental Victorian ances- society. Luckily the SPWFE writes: 'Fraser Darling was the tors. The only atypical thing proved more effective and, as pioneer of the ethos of conser- about it was that it began in FFPS, is still going strong. vation, uniting Nature and France, when Isidore Geoffrey Richard Fitter human nature in a single har- Saint-Hilaire (not to be con- FFPS Vice-President mony. He had an ecological fused with his father Etienne G. sense of right and wrong in the St-H.) founded the Societe use of the countryside and an Zoologique d'Acclimatation in unremitting sense of outrage at 1854. Not to be outdone, the man's maltreatment of Nature, British, led by the celebrated MAMMALS his pre-occupation was with naturalist Frank Buckland (who the Dignity of Life, the absolute could afford to be eccentric beauty and perfectness of because his father was an Mammals of the Nature'. Anglican dean), launched the Indomalayan Region: A Systematic Review by G. B. The editor, who was a col- Acclimatisation Society 6 years league of Sir Frank's and knew later. Its foundation pre-echoed Corbet and J. E. Hill (Oxford him well, gives an all too brief that of the FFPS's forbear, the University Press, Oxford, and but nevertheless interesting Society for the Preservation of Natural History Museum, account of his life, which adds the Wild Fauna of the Empire London, 1992, ISBN 019 colour to an already fascinating formed 33 years later. We read 854693 9, 488 pp. HB series of journals. that 'a number of gentlemen £60.00) David Lovatt Smith interested in the As defined in this work, the Acclimatisation of Foreign Indomalayan Region extends Animals and Birds in the from Pakistan in the west to the They Dined on Eland: The United Kingdom have deter- Philippines and Moluccas in Story of the Acclimatisation mined to form themselves into the east, and north to central Societies by Christopher a Society'. The gentlemen China and the Ryukyu Islands. Lever (Quiller Press, London, included three marquesses, two This is the first attempt to 1992, ISBN 1 870948 59 9, earls and two viscounts. They review the mammal fauna of 224 pp., HB £18.50) ate the eland at 'the now cele- the whole region and includes brated Eland dinner, when for Acclimatization is such a 1041 species. It will be an the first time the freshly killed invaluable reference work, pro- mouthful that author and pub- haunch of an African beast was lisher have adopted what viding a major advance in the placed on the table of the understanding of the mammal appears at first sight to be a Aldersgate Tavern'. (Guinness somewhat misleading title. fauna of a very rich region and Book of Records, are you listen- its relationships to surrounding They did, of course, dine on ing?). Elands were then already eland, but this was not the regions, and a foundation for flourishing in at least four the preparation of more main objective of the acclima- noblemen's parks. tizers, only their colourful country-oriented accounts and beginning. But in the end was We must be grateful to guides. Such guides have there ever much more to their Christopher Lever, our leading appeared for little of the region activities? It does not help that student of introduced animals, in the last 20 years and it has acclimatization has had so for bringing before us, with his remained an area rather poorly many meanings, and needs to usual meticulous care, the most served for compilation of fau- be distinguished from domesti- detailed account ever of the nal lists and identification aids. 124 ORYX VOL 27 NO 2 APRIL 1993 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.42, on 28 Sep 2021 at 11:56:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300020706.
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