28 



THE LINING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



Phitt b) L. MrJhnd, F.Z.S.] 



RING-TAILED LEMUR 



h FinthU) 



This lemur is often kept as a domestic animal, and a/lowed to run about the 

 house like a cat 



softest moss, have no tails. The strangest 

 of all are two creatures called the Slender 

 Loris and the Slow Loris. The slender 

 loris, which has the ordinary furry coat of 

 the lemurs, and no tail, moves on the 

 branches exactly as does a chameleon. 

 l-..u h hand or foot is slowly raised, brought 

 forward, and set down again. The fingers 

 then .is slowly close on the branch till its 

 grasp is secure. It is like a slow-working 

 mechanical toy. Probably this is a habit, 

 now- instinctive, gained by ages of cautiously 

 approaching insects. But the result is to 

 give the impression that the creature is 

 almost an automaton. 



Madagascar is the main home of the 

 lemurs, though some of the related animals 

 are also found in Africa and in the East 

 Indies. But the dense forests of the great 

 island are full of these curious nocturnal beasts, of which there are so many varieties presenting 

 very slight differences of form and habit, that naturalists have some difficulty in giving even a 

 complete list of their species. Add to this that nearly all of them are intensely and entirely 

 nocturnal, and the scarcity of data as to their habits is easily accounted for. When seen by us, 

 their faces all lack expression — that is to say, the eyes, which mainly give expression, seem 

 entirely vacant and meaningless. But this is due to their special adaptation to seeing in the dark 

 tropical night. By day the pupil of the eye almost disappears. If only we could also see in 

 the dark, the eyes of the lemur might have as much expression as those of a faithful dog. 1 he- 

 change which night makes in their general demeanour is simply miraculous. By day many of 

 them are like hibernating animals, almost incapable of movement. When once the curtain of 

 night has fallen, they are as active as squirrels, and .is full of play as a family of kittens. The 

 Ring-tailed Lemur is often kept as a pet, both in Madagascar and in the Mauritius. It is 

 one of the very few which are diurnal in their habits. When in a hurry it jumps along, standing 

 on its hind feet, like a little kangaroo, but holding its tail upright behind its back. It will 

 follow people up-stairs in this way, jumping from step to step, 

 with its front paws outstretched, as if it were addressing an 

 audience. The French call these day lemurs Maris. The 

 ring-tailed lemur lives largely among rocks and precipices. 

 Most of these creatures live upon fruit, the shoots and leaves 

 of trees, and other vegetable food. But, like the squirrel, they 

 have no objection to eggs and nestlings, and also kill and eat 

 any small birds and insects. Some of the smaller kinds are 

 almost entirely insect-feeders. The largest kind of lemur 

 belongs to the group known as the I\i>kis. The Black-AND- 

 white Indki measures about two feet in length. It has only a 

 rudimentary tail, large ears, and a sharp-pointed nose. The 

 amount of white colouring varies much in different individ- 

 uals. This variation in colouring a very rare feature among 

 wild mammalia, though one of the first changes shown when 

 animals are domesticated — is also found in the next three 

 species, called Sifakas. The Diademed Sifaka, the Woolly 



Photo by L, Midland* F.Z.S., forth htnchhy 



A DWARF LEMUR 



These tiny animals take the place of the dor- 

 mouse in Madagascar 



