3° 



THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



Ph»iik, I.. Midland, Y.7. S ] [Won* Finthli? 



GARNETT'S GALACU 

 One of the squirrel-like lemuroids 



Crowned Lemur, and Coquerel's Lemur, all 

 represent various small, pretty, and interesting 

 varieties of the group. The Black-and-white 

 Lemur, one of the larger kinds, is capable of 

 domestication. A specimen kept in a London 

 house, where the present writer saw it, was always 

 called •• Pussy " l>y the children. The cither small 

 kinds are very like squirrels, mice, weasels, and 

 other creatines, with which they have no connec- 

 tion. It seems as though the curiously limited 

 and primitive fauna of Madagascar tried to make 

 up for its want of variety by mimicking the 

 forms of other animals, and something of the 

 same kind is seen in Australia, where the mar- 

 supials take the place of all kinds of ordinary mammals. There are marsupial rats, marsupial 

 wolves, marsupial squirrels, and even marsupial moles. The small squirrel and rat-like lemurs 

 are called Chirogales. Coquerel's Lemur is really a chirogale. It is a quaint and by no 

 means amiable little animal, sleeping obstinately all day, and always ready to growl and bite 

 if disturbed. Its colour is brownish gray and cream-colour. A pair of these, rolled up tightly 

 into balls in a box of hay, will absolutely refuse to move, even when handled. They only 

 feed by night. 



The Galagos 



An allied group, confined to tropical Africa, is that of the Galagos. They are most beau- 

 tiful little creatures, whose nearest relatives are the Malagasy lemurs. Generally speaking, they 

 have even more exquisite fur than the lemurs. It is almost as soft as floss silk, and so close that 

 the hand sinks into it as into a bed of moss. The colour of the fur is rich and pleasing, gener- 

 ally some shade of brown. The head is small, the nose pointed, and the ears thin, hairless, and 

 capable of being folded up, like the wings of a beetle. But the most beautiful feature of the gal- 

 agos is their eyes. These are of immense size, compared with the head. The eye is of the 

 richest and most beautiful brown, like a cairngorm stone, but not glassy or clear. Though quite 

 translucent, the eye is marked with minute dividing-lines, like the grain in an agate — a truly 

 exquisite object. When handled or taken in the arms, the little galago clasps the fingers or 

 sleeve tightly, as if it thought it was holding 

 a tree, and shows no disposition to escape. A 

 family of three or four young ones, no larger 

 than mice, with their large-eyed mother attend- 

 ing to them, forms an exquisitely dainty little 

 group. The galagos vary from the size "l a 

 squirrel to that of a small cat. The kind most 

 often seen in England is the Maholj Galago 

 from East Africa. Another species conns 

 from Senegal, and others from Calabar and the 

 forests of the Gold Coast. Garnett's Galago, 

 another ■-])<•< ie-, is shown above. They may 

 be regarded as nocturnal tropical lemuroids, 

 analogous t'> the chirbgales of Madagascar. It 

 ha- been suggested, with great probability, that 

 the intensely drowsy sleep of many of the 

 lerruroid animal- corresponds to the hiberna- 



Wtro bj I. Midland, F.Z.S] VtiI 1 .■ hit} 



MAHOLI GALAGO 



This little animal 'is a native t I- '.Africa. It has very large eyes, 



and fur as sift as the chinchilla's 



