Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 April 2009
It has been realized for a decade that the management of wild animals would be greatly facilitated if a method could be found for their ready capture and handling. The need for such a method has become accentuated in recent years with the increasing interest in wild life, and also with the problems associated with a reduction in the number of wild animals combined with a decrease in the amount of space available for their natural existence. Much work has been done on the catching and marking of animals such as birds, fishes, whales and seals. It is only recently that effective methods are being evolved for the capture of the larger land mammals, such as antelope, for marking and other purposes such as body measurements and weighing, as well as the collecting of samples for pathological or parasitological study. This form of direct control of wild animals is opening up new vistas of wild life management in Africa, and it is thought that the use of these methods may have similar application to wild animals in other regions and parts of the world, both as a means of increasing our knowledge of their habits, ecology and physiology, and in direct management such as capture for transport to other areas, vaccination and occasional therapeutic veterinary interference.