'IRAQ AND THE PERSIAN GULF' [‎142v] (289/862)

198 CLIMATE, VEGETATION, AND FAUNA
blue flowers ( Viciagregarid) is found commonly in dense communities
in the damper parts of the mountain sides, especially in shallow
gullies. Myosotis alpestris, a forget-me-not with intense sky-blue
flowers, is found in dense clumps on the narrow ledges just below the
summit of the Algurd Dagh at an altitude of 11,000-12,000 feet. The
small lakes on this mountain at 10,000 feet are bordered by damp
turf covered with a buttercup, Ranunculus brachylobus. In such
places also grows the attractive Primula auriculata with pink primrose
like flowers.
FAUNA
In former times the lion was not uncommon in Iraq and ranged
from Palestine to India. One writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. tells of a tame animal which
frequented the market at Baghdad and helped itself to fish as it
pleased. With the advent of the breech-loading rifle the lion was
doomed. About 1908 a live lion was sent to Berlin from Iraq and,
according to Sir Percy Sykes, they still existed in 1910 in the lower
Karun region of Persia. None, however, were seen during the War
of 1914-1918.
The oryx, wild ass, and ostrich were common in the past and widely
distributed in the deserts of Arabia, Iraq, and Syria, and their decrease
has been due to the same cause as that of the lion. A few oryx still
linger in the more remote parts of its range, and may still occur on the
borders of Syria and Iraq. Here, too, will be found such ostriches as
may still exist. This bird frequently figures in Babylonian carvings
and was represented as little taller than a man. At one time it was
thought that these figures were young birds or that their size was a
matter of ‘artists’ licence’. It is now known that the Arabian ostrich
is not large and much smaller than African birds.
Of the wild ass little can be said, since its previous distribution is
not clear and it is more than doubtful if there are any now, though
specimens were formerly obtained in Mesopotamia. The wooded
hills between Iraq and Persia were at one time the haunts of a fallow-
deer which, in prehistoric times, was also found in Palestine. Now,
since the cutting down of trees and the introduction of rifles, this
interesting deer is no more.
Mammals
About eight kinds of bats are recorded from Iraq, and one of the
most abundant is the white-bordered pipistrel. In size and colour it is
very similar to our common pipistrel, and can be often seen catching