JUMPING MICE AND JERBOAS. 113 
used as an exit in time of danger, when the animal removes the barrier and escapes 
in an unsuspected direction. Usually two or three pairs occupy the same burrow. 
In addition to the usual vegetable diet, the alagdaga also eats insects, and the eggs 
and young of the steppe-lark, if not the old birds themselves. The young are born 
in summer, in a nest placed deep down in the burrow, and are usually from five to six 
in number, although occasionally there may be as many as eight ina litter. How long 
the young remain with their parents is unknown, but it is quite probable that they 
do not depart till the spring following their birth. In cold weather these animals do 
not leave their nests ; and the winter sleep is a long one, enduring, according to Radde, 
from the beginning of September till the latter part of April. The flesh of the 
alagdaga is eaten by the Kirghiz and other dwellers on the steppes; the capture being 



Mar 
ie L We “ 












































































aN a 
a) WS eS 
UNS fad =e 
— 


THE KIRGHIZ JERBOA (4 nat. size). 
effected by surrounding the burrows with a fence and pouring water down the 
open holes, when the animals seek to escape by breaking through the closed entrance. 
The Afghan jerboa (A. indica) is a smaller species of the same 
genus, with proportionately longer ears and tail; the length of the 
head and body being about 34 inches, and that of the tail, inclusive of the tuft at 
end, upwards of 74 inches. This species inhabits Afghanistan, the south-east of 
Persia, and Northern Baluchistan ; and is found commonly on the plains of Quetta 
at an elevation of about six thousand feet. In habits, this jerboa seems to be very 
similar to the larger species; its period of hibernation lasting from October till 
April. Central Asia is also the home of other species of the same genus. 
The recently discovered Yarkand jerboa (ELuchoretes naso) is the 
sole representative of a distinct genus characterised by certain features 
in the skull, the great length of the nose, and the enormous size of the ears, which 
are longer than the head. The fur is sandy-coloured above and white below; the 
VOL. I11.—8 
Afghan Jerboa. 
Yarkand Jerboa. 
