HABITS OF THE SCALY ANTEATER FROM JAVA. 183 



NOTE XXV. 

 HABITS OF THE SCALY ANTEATER EROM JAVA 



BY 



Dr. P. A. JENTINK. 



January 1903. 



Mr. Edward Jacobson from Semarang (Java), one of the 

 zealed correspondents of our Museum, communicated me 

 the other day some observations made by himself on living 

 animals. Especially of a high scientific interest seemed to 

 me what he wrote concerning the habits and behavior of 

 a specimen of the Scaly Anteater, Manis javanica ; among 

 his observations is one quite unknown till now, namely 

 that the animal when frightened, emits a strong musk-smell. 

 As far as I am aware no hunter or traveler made the 

 same observation before. Dr. Büttikofer, at present Direc- 

 tor of the Rotterdam Zoological Garden, had in Liberia 

 numbers of living specimens of Manis tricuspis and M. 

 longicaudata under observation, he however never has per- 

 ceived the named smell. As it is a very interesting fact, 

 worthy to save from oblivion, I translate here Mr. Jacob- 

 son's letter partly. 



He writes d.d. 16 December 1902: »0n a boar-hunting 

 » foregoing week one of my men had the good luck of 

 » procuring a specimen of the Scaly-Anteater (Manis Java- 

 »nica) by digging it out from a hole. — How exceedingly 

 » helpless these creatures are! That they since long not 

 »have been extirpated by dogs or tigers they probably 

 »owe to the strong smell of musk they emit. — I kept 

 »the animal during three days in a » volière" close to my 

 » house in order to study its habits. The Anteater if 



Notes from the Leyden M-useum, Vol. XXIII. 



