224 LEMURS. 



wet clay. It has one failing, otherwise its capture would be no easy task. Should 

 a pot of palm- wine be left on the tree, the creature drinks to excess, comes down, 

 and rushes about intoxicated. In captivity they are mild ; during the day remaining 

 either rolled up in a ball, or perched half asleep, with ears stowed away like a 

 beetle's wing under its hard and ornamented case. I had half a dozen squirrels with 

 one in the same cage ; these were good friends, the latter creeping under the golgo's" 

 (Sir J. Kirk's way of spelling galago) " soft fur and falling asleep. On introducing 

 a few specimens of (elephant) shrew, the golgo seized one and bit off its tail, which, 

 however, it did not eat. The food it took was biscuit, rice, orange, banana, guava, 

 and a little cooked meat. Stupid during the day, it became active at night, or just 

 after darkness set in. The rapidity and length of its leaps, which were absolutely 

 noiseless, must give great facilities to its capturing live prey. I never knew it 

 give a loud call, but it would often make a low, chattering noise. It has been 

 observed at the Luabo mouth of the Zambesi, at Quillimane, and at Mozambique. 

 When I had my live specimen at Zanzibar, the natives did not seem to recognise it ; 

 nevertheless, it may be abundant on the mainland." 



On the West Coast of Africa, in Angola, the great galago is represented by the 

 closely allied Monteiro's galago (G. monteiri), which is of slightly larger size than 

 the East Coast form; the length of the head and body being 12, and that of the 

 tail 16 inches. Although these two galagos differ mainly or entirely by their 

 coloration, yet, according to Sir. J. Kirk, the eastern form is confined to the coast 

 region, and it is probable that there is a wide area separating the habitats of the 

 two, which suggests the advisability of regarding them as distinct species. As a 

 rule, Monteiro's galago is of a uniform pale grey colour, with the sides of the nose 

 somewhat darker, and the throat and tail nearly or quite white. The fur is soft, 

 with the component hairs slate-coloured at their roots, and white at the tips. 



GARNETT'S GALAGO (Galago garnetti). 



Garnett's, or, as it is sometimes rather inappropriately called, the black galago, 

 is a species belonging to the same group as the preceding forms, from which it 

 differs by its inferior size. It is an inhabitant of Eastern Africa, and is of a dark 

 brown colour, tending to yellowish on the under-parts, with black ears, and a white 

 streak on each side of the loins. 



One of these animals, formerly in the London Zoological Society's menagerie, 

 when let loose one night in the apartments of the superintendent, exhibited to per- 

 fection the leaping habits and extreme agility characteristic of its tribe. It leaped, 

 after the manner of the kangaroo, clearing several feet at a single spring, and 

 hopping on to the table and other articles of furniture which were in the room. 

 Strange to say, it exhibited no signs of fear of the dogs and cats with which it was 

 confronted. 



The pale - coloured galago (G. pallida), of Western Equatorial Africa, is a 

 species connecting in some respects the three above-mentioned species with those of 

 the group now to be described. It was met with by Du Chaillu, who believed that 

 he had discovered a new species. The general colour is pale grey, and the tail 

 unusually long. 



