CHAP. I.] 



BEARS. 



137 



of animals that take their prey at night. I doubt 

 whether this conjecture be well founded ; but at least it 

 would seem that in their peculiar (economy some addi- 

 tional power is required to supplement that of vision, 

 as in insects touch is superadded, in the most sensitive 

 development, to that of sight. Hence, it is possible 

 that the extended screen stretched at the back of the 

 nostrils in bats may be intended by nature to facilitate 

 the collection and conduction of odours, as the vast 

 development of the shell of the ear in the same family is 

 designed to assist in the collection of sounds and thus 

 to reinforce their vision when in pursuit of their prey 

 in the dusk by the superior sensitiveness of the organs 

 of hearing and smell, as they are already remarkable 

 for that marvellous delicacy of touch which enables them, 

 even when deprived of sight, to direct their flight with 

 security by the nerves of the wing. 



One tiny little bat, not much larger than the humble 

 bee 1 , and of a glossy black colour, is sometimes to be 

 seen about Colombo. It is so familiar and gentle that 

 it will alight on the cloth during dinner, and manifests 

 so little alarm that it seldom makes any effort to escape 

 before a wine glass can be inverted to secure it. 2 



III. CARNIVORA. Bears. Of the carnivora, the one 

 most dreaded by the natives of Ceylon, and the only 

 one of the larger animals that makes the depths of the 

 forest its habitual retreat, is the bear 3 , attracted chiefly by 

 the honey which is to be found in the hollow trees and 

 clefts of the rocks. Occasionally spots of fresh earth are 

 observed which have been turned up by the bears in search 

 of some favourite root. They feed also on the termites 

 and ants. A friend of mine traversing the forest near 

 Jaffna, at early dawn, had his attention attracted by the 

 growling of a bear, which was seated upon a lofty branch 



- It is a very small Singhalese 

 variety of Scotophilus Coromandeli- 

 cus, P. Cuv. 



2 For a notice of the curious para- 



site peculiar to the bat, see Note A. 

 end of this chapter. 



3 Prochilus labiatus, BlainviUe. 



