THE PLATYPUS. 369 



upon it, four or five feet apart, a stick being passed up the 

 burrow as the work proceeded, in order to ascertain its direc- 

 tion. From this burrow he procured two full-furred young 

 ones, a male and female, beautifully sleek and delicate, most 

 probably having never left the burrow. They lived in cap- 

 tivity about five weeks : their liveliness, their frolics, and gam- 

 bols affording a constant source of interest. " One evening, 

 both the animals came out about dusk, went as usual and 

 ate food from the saucer, and then commenced playing with 

 one another like two puppies, attacking with their mandibles 

 and raising the fore-paws against each other. In the struggle 

 one would get thrust down, and, at the moment when the 

 spectator would expect it to rise again and renew the combat, 

 it would commence scratching itself, its antagonist looking 

 on and waiting for the sport to be renewed. When running, 

 they are exceedingly animated, their little eyes glisten, and 

 the orifices of their ears dilate and contract with rapidity ; if 

 taken into the hands at this time for examination, they strug- 

 gle violently to escape, and their loose integuments render it 

 difficult to retain them." They were found to sleep in vari- 

 ous positions, mostly rolled up like a hedgehog, into a ball, 

 the tail being wrapped over the bill and head, sometimes in 

 an extended attitude. Their periods of activity were very 

 irregular, but the dusk of evening in most cases called forth 

 all their energies. During the night they were generally ac- 

 tive : uight or evening we suspect to be the favorite period in 

 which the Ornithorhynchus seeks its food, wanders along the 

 bank, constructs its burrow, and gambols with its mate. 



