MAMMALS AS NEST BUILDERS 125 



difEerent species, the largest is as big as a cat, while 

 the smallest is hardly as large as a rat. All of them 

 have the curious power of being able to partly fold 

 up their enormous ears — in aU probability as a 

 means of protecting those delicate and sensitive 

 organs from being torn or damaged by the branches 

 or twigs of the trees. Nocturnal in habits, the 

 galagos, found in many parts of Africa, dwell 

 amidst the dense forest regions and spend the 

 daytime within the shelter of their nests, or else 

 hiding among the leaves of the cocoa-nut palms. 



The great, grand or thick-tailed galago, one of 

 the larger kinds, is spoken of by the Portuguese 

 settlers in Zambesi as the ' rat of the cocoa-nut 

 palm,' owing to the wonderful agility it displays 

 when jumping from tree to tree. But in spite of 

 its powers in such respect the creature is not a 

 difficult one to capture, for, by taking advantage 

 of its pronounced liking for palm wine, it is only 

 necessary to leave a jar of this favourite beverage 

 within its reach, and then wait until the animal 

 has feasted thereon — not wisely but too well. 



The remarkable -looking creature known as the 

 aye-aye {Chiromys madagascariensis) is yet another 

 nest builder. Monsieur Soumagne, who appears 

 to have been the first to discover the nests, describ- 

 ing them as ball-shaped structures of enormous 

 size which measure about two feet in diameter. 

 They are usually made with the leaves of the travel- 

 lers' tree and lined with twigs and leaves. 



Found only in Madagascar, few animals have 

 given rise to more controversy than the aye-aye 



