28 NATURAL HISTORY ESSAYS 



and cocoanut leaves, nibbling the latter into bits and 

 possibly straining out the coarser fibres between its 

 comb-like incisors. It is said to be a delicate beast 

 liable to take cold ; but so is the slender loris of 

 Ceylon, which is imported every year. It is there- 

 fore to be hoped that a living cobego will some day 

 be safely landed in England, a task which might 

 be successfully accomplished under intelligent care, 

 reinforced by a plentiful supply of bananas or of 

 young cocoanuts which would ripen en route. To 

 see a flying lemur hang suspended in its natural fur 

 cloak, to see it run up a branch, and to hear it quack 

 like a duck, would be as great an attraction as a live 

 gorilla, porpoise, or musk ox, and would rival in 

 interest any of the numerous zoological treasures 

 which have been exhibited durino- the longr life of 

 the Regent's Park Gardens.^ 



In the meantime, stuffed specimens of the cobego 

 may be studied in the various museums. A well- 

 modelled example of the grey variety, mounted as if 

 clinging to a tree trunk, may be seen in the National 

 Collection. The pose of the bird-like head and cat- 

 like body seem to leave nothing to be desired, and 

 on studying this specimen one can well under- 

 stand the advantages of protective coloration to a 

 defenceless species like the present. Professor 

 Schlegel in his " Dierentuin van het Koninklijk 



1 One could not j,Miarantee that it \\o\\\A flij, XXxow^x in a roomy apart- 

 ment ; even l)ats in cantivity are very intlolent in this respect, since it is 

 no longer needful for tliem to hunt for food. 



