492 GRACEFUL LITTLE ANIMALS. 



Of the Tarsii it is enough to say that they are insectivorous, like 

 the loris, and that their hind limbs are similarly disproportionate. 

 The tail is long and tufted ; the large, fixed, glaring eyes mark them 

 out as addicted to nocturnal habits. They leap about two feet at a 

 ' spring, and by day conceal themselves under the roots of trees. Two 

 species are distinguished : the Tarsius fuscomanus of Fischer, and 

 the Tarsius bancanus of Horsfield. 



The Makis approach the nearest of all the Lemuridse to the 

 superior Quadrumana. They have, however, like their congeners, 

 opposite fingers on the hind feet. The Short-tailed Indri bears 

 even some slight resemblance to man, in the shortness of his tail, the 

 length of his legs, and his altitude. The Malagasy call him the 

 "Man of the Woods," although he has a pointed muzzle and trumpet- 

 shaped ears on the summit of the head. He is the largest of the 

 Lemuridae, attaining, when erect, the height of three feet. His skin 

 is soft, and clothed in long fine hair ; whence naturalists have 

 named him Indris laniger. Very gentle in disposition, he is easily 

 tamed, although endowed with only moderate intelligence. It is said 

 that he can be trained to the chase. 



The Maki, like the Short-tailed Indri, has a thin elongated 

 muzzle ; otherwise, in form, he approximates more closely to the 

 Ratans or the Coatis than to the Apes. Their ears are small arid 

 round, lateral, and almost entirely hidden in the hair ; they carry a 

 tail of notable length ; their fur is thick and soft. The thumb of 

 their anterior paws is nearly as " opposable " as that of the posterior. 

 To sum up : they are graceful little animals, precisely because we do 

 not find in them those grotesque features and that eccentric conforma- 

 tion which render the apes, even the most favoured by Nature, offen- 

 sive caricatures of man. They are lively and agile ; they climb, run, 

 and leap with as much grace as nimbleness. Their habits are noctur- 

 nal, as the development of their eyes sufficiently indicates. They 

 subsist on fruits and insects. Their manners are gentle ; they 

 accustom themselves to captivity with great readiness, and soon grow 

 familiar ; but they do not equal the apes in intelligence. This 



