Apes, Monkeys, and Lemurs 



29 



the WOOLLY INDRI, and the BLACK INDRI all belong 



to this group. The SIFAKAS, as some of these and the 



allied forms are called, are venerated by the Mala- 



gasys, who never kill one intentionally. Mr. Foster 



observes that " they live in companies of six or eight, 



and are very gentle and inoffensive animals, wearing 



a very melancholy expression, and being as a rule 



morose, inactive, and more silent than the other 



lemurs. They rarely live long in captivity. In 



their native state they are most alert in the morning 



and evening, as during the day they conceal them- 

 selves under the foliage of trees. When asleep 



or in repose, the head is dropped on the chest 



and buried between the arms, the tail rolled up on 



itself and disposed between the hind legs. The 



sifakas live exclusively on vegetable substances, fruits, 



leaves, and flowers, their diet not being varied, as 



in the 



other lemurs, by small birds, eggs, or insects. 

 Their life is almost entirely arboreal, for which 

 the muscles of their hands and feet, as well as 

 the parachute-like folds between their arms and 

 bodies, and their peculiar hooked fingers, are well 

 fitted. The young one is carried by the mother 

 on its back, its hands grasping her armpits 

 tightly." 



This is not the universal way of carrying the 

 young among lemurs. The CROWNED LEMUR, a 

 beautiful grey -and- white species, often breeds at 

 the Zoo. The female carries its young one 

 partly on its side. The infant clings tightly with 



Photo by L. Medtand, F.Z.S.} [North Finchley. 



BLACK LEMUR. 

 Found on the coast of Madagascar. 



Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., North Finchley. 



COQUEREL'S LEMUR. 



A lemur which strongly objects to being awakened in the 

 daytime. 



arms and tail round the very 

 slender waist of the lemur, and 

 pushes out its sharp little face 

 just above the thigh of the 

 mother. The WOOLLY INDRI has 

 more woolly fur than the others of 

 its tribe, a shorter nose, and a 

 longer tail. 



THE TRUE LEMURS 



Of these there are several 

 species, all confined to Mada- 

 gascar and the Comoro Islands. 

 One of the best known is the KING- 

 TAILED LEMUR, mentioned above. 

 It is called LEMUR CATTA, the Cat 

 Lemur, from being so often kept 

 in domestication. The WEASEL 



Photo by L. Medland, F.Z &} Finchley. 



RUFFED LEMUR. 

 Another of the nocturnal lemurs. It lives mainly on fruit and insects. 



