NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



in close proximity, unless it be the parents and a 

 young family which have just emerged from the 

 nest. When the young are able to fend for them- 

 selves, they go off and take up their abode at a 

 distance. When two males meet, they fight with 

 such determination that one or the other is usually 

 killed, and the victor dines off the body of the 

 victim, evidently thinking it to be wrong to waste 

 good meat. 



On one occasion I placed seven Dormice together, 

 after I had noticed they were about to hibernate, 

 thinking that at this season they would not interfere 

 with each other. They all sluggishly crawled into 

 the cosy nest which I placed in the cage, and went 

 to sleep. At intervals for a couple of weeks I 

 peeped in at them to ascertain if they were all right. 

 There they lay, all happily dozing. When taken 

 from the nest and laid in the palm of the hand, 

 they wriggled uneasily, but made no attempt to 

 stand, crawl, or even to open their eyes. If a leg 

 was pulled out at full stretch it would be drawn 

 in again, but otherwise these Dormice seemed in- 

 capable of movement. However, thinking it in- 

 advisable to disturb them any more, I caused a 

 vessel of water and a dish of assorted grains and 

 nuts to be placed in the cage. At intervals on 

 unusually warm days, I noticed a Dormouse sitting 

 cleaning itself with its front paws and tongue, or 

 eating some of the food provided. It only appeared 

 at short intervals during the warmest part of the 



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