MADAGASCAR (III) 269 
I had to search farther and farther afield. In the course of a month 
I managed to get eleven specimens—all in perfect condition— 
which I thought quite satisfactory considering their rarity. 
These forest-dwelling gerbils are very local. There are many 
square miles of forest without a trace of them, and they are to 
be found only where the soil is of a light sandy nature, and where 
the undergrowth is in thick clumps. This applies equally to the 
Giant Rat, and I had the experience of finding a hole, newly dug 
by the latter, only a few yards from one occupied by Macro- 
tarsomys. These represent the largest and smallest of the Malagasy 
rodents, and the least known. 
The habit of filling in its hole after entering, which is so cleverly 
done that no trace of it can be seen, is a provision on the part of 
the gerbil to protect itself from snakes, which abound in the west 
coast forest. It is purely a local adaptation to defeat its natural 
enemies. In regions where snakes are scarce the holes are left 
open. 
As all my previous specimens of the Giant Rat were slightly 
damaged by being shot with a twelve-bore gun, I offered the 
Sakalava natives a good reward to bring me some alive. For some 
weeks the natives said they were unable to locate any holes, but 
then they brought me a young one only a few days old, with its 
eyes still unopened. They said they had spent all day in digging 
out the burrow and that finally the adults escaped. This may have 
been so or they may have eaten them, which I think is more 
probable. However, about a week later they brought me a true 
pair and a young one, all alive. Again the natives related the 
same story about the difficulty of digging out the burrow, which 
they said was deep and long and wound between a labyrinth of 
roots. As they arrived with their quarry well after dark, I do not 
doubt that their task occupied the whole day. The few burrows 
that I saw were not unlike those of a rabbit. 
Like many other Malagasy mammals, Giant Rats are very 
docile. I kept this pair for a day in a basket, where they remained 
without any attempt to escape, and allowed themselves to be 
stroked without any sign of fear. While doing this they put their 
ears flat on their backs, reminding me more than ever of a tame 
