YELLOW SQUIRREL 87 



Paraxerus cepapi. Yelloiv Squirrel. Gele Eckhoorntje. 

 Grey-footed Squirrel of some authors. 



General colour above of a grizzled yellowish colour, 

 owing to the hairs being black at the bases, and with a 

 subterminal black ring ," below much paler — almost white. 

 The ears are of moderate size and sparsely haired. The 

 tail is bushy and of a darker appearance than the body, the 

 yellow hairs bearing a double ring of black. Length of 

 head and body 6 inches, tail 6A inches. This little squirrel 

 is the commonest and most widely distributed of the few 

 arboreal species in South Africa, and is found in the 

 Pretoria and Eustenburg bushveld, especially in the 

 more wooded valleys of water-courses. It feeds upon 

 the berries and seed-pods of various trees, principally the 

 fruit of the " marula" when in season ; and it descends 

 to the ground in search of bulbous roots of various kinds. 

 It is usually found singly or in pairs, and it can run up 

 the perpendicular trunk of a tree with great ease and 

 rapidity. I also met with this little animal at Serowe in 

 Bechuanaland, and while strolling round near the 

 magistrate's house there I saw several scampering over 

 the ground, dashing from one tree to another; they 

 appeared to be fairly tame. This species is said to inhabit 

 the whole of Rhodesia — in fact the first examples the 

 Zoo possessed came from Shesheke on the Zambesi Eiver 

 — Damaraland and Nyasaland. It is a sprightly little 

 creature in captivity, making for itself a round nest of 

 grass, to which it retires for the hot part of the day, 

 issuing forth to feed towards sunset. During the morn- 

 ing it climbs and runs about with rapidity, and will come 

 up to be fed from the hand. A female in the ooUection 

 gave birth to two young ones. When captured young it 

 makes an interesting and tame little pet, but is not so 

 easily tamed as either the Mierkat or Ground Squirrel. 



