286 THE ODYSSEY OF AN ANIMAL COLLECTOR 
easterly limit. A few miles to the east the vegetation is affected by 
the humid conditions of the east coast and there is a rapid transi- 
tion to the evergreen vegetation of the eastern rain-forests. 
I stayed in the village of Antsovelo, close to Lake Anongy, the 
sole inhabitants being two old men; the rest had migrated to the 
east where food was more plentiful. Sea fish, which abound in 
the lake, were the sole means of subsistence of the two men except 
when a native traveler carrying cassava passed by, in which case 
they were able to effect an exchange. 
At the south end of the lake there is a bar of sand dividing it 
from the sea, but the two are sometimes linked in times of heavy 
rain as several watercourses bring down the flood waters from 
the mountains to the northeast, causing the lake to swell con- 
siderably. 
As I expected, I found the Madagascar Gerbil around Lake 
Anongy, but it is very scarce and local. Strangely enough, I never 
encountered a single specimen in the didieria-euphorbia scrub— 
but only in a more luxuriant vegetation some miles to the north- 
east. This is in the nature of a gallery forest and borders dry 
watercourses where the subterranean water supply is near the 
surface. Here a common evergreen tree bears a large round nut- 
like fruit which, in July, appears to be the principal food of the 
gerbil. Many of these trees are hollow and are the home of the 
pretty nocturnal Weasel Lemur. 
In this locality they have a curious habit which appears to be 
unique in the lemur family. Whenever they hear a passer-by their 
curiosity is aroused to such an extent that they seem to be unable 
to resist exposing themselves in order to see what is going on. One 
morning, during a walk through a gallery forest bordering a dry 
watercourse, I saw five of these fluffy creatures peeping at me 
from holes in trees. Sometimes merely the face is shown but at 
others they come right outside their hiding-places. In either case 
they remain stationary as if paralysed and allow themselves to be 
prodded with a stick. The trunks of these hollow trees are very 
short and the holes are thus rarely more than ten feet from the 
ground, and often only four or five. If left undisturbed the lemur 
will remain with its head projecting from a hole until the passer- 
