84 THE ODYSSEY OF AN ANIMAL COLLECTOR 
of the animal that nothing will induce them to attempt to catch 
one. Although superficially it appears to have few, if any, affinities 
with the lemurs, dissection has proved this relationship; so in the 
aye-aye we see one of the finest examples in nature of an animal 
having modified itself to a particular mode of life. 
The middle finger of each forehand is curiously slender, like a 
piece of wire, terminating with a curved claw. This is put to spe- 
cial use, for aye-ayes live largely on the wood-boring larvae of 
certain beetles. With their large sensitive ears they can hear the 
grubs at work in rotting wood, and having gnawed some of the 
wood away with their rodent-like incisors, the wiry finger 1s 
thrust into a grub-hole, hooking out the fat tasty larva with the 
claw. 
To assist in keeping these animals fit on the boat, the Forestry 
Department had thoughtfully sent a supply of these larvae packed 
in chips of damp rotting wood. Next to beetle grubs they seem to 
favor raw eggs; these I gave daily to my specimens on board, and 
the mode of eating them was fascinating to watch. The animal 
holds the egg tightly in one hand, then bites a small hole in the 
top, and holding the egg close to its mouth it passes the wiry 
finger into the contents, then into the mouth with a flick; this is 
repeated continuously with great rapidity till the shell is empty. 
Strangely enough ripe bananas were eaten in the same manner 
by flicking pieces into the mouth with its middle finger. The pair 
with the baby I took to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris and the 
other pair to London, and this is the only time these odd creatures 
have been brought to England since the First World War. 
On our way round Madagascar we put into Nosy Bé on the west 
coast and there picked up another large collection that the local 
officials had been asked to get together. This included about 
twenty specimens of the Black Lemur—a species common in 
northwest Madagascar, and distinguished from other lemurs by 
the sexes being of different coloration. The females are rufous. 
Lemurs, like many other mammals, have special adaptations 
for performing their toilet. In their case the lower incisors and 
canines are grouped together to form a comb, which protrudes 
from the lower jaw almost horizontally. These teeth are no longer 
employed in feeding, but are used solely for the purpose of comb- 
