74 



THE HALF-MONKEYS OR LEMUROIDS. 



I had the opportunity of observing the Aye- Aye 

 in London, though unfortunately but for a single 

 evening. Yet I saw that Sonnerat's description 

 requires not only additional details but correction. 

 I will, therefore, give here an account of my own 

 experiences and of what the keepers told me. 



The animal really resembles no one mammal to 

 a noticeable extent. It reminds one a little of the 

 Galagos, but a naturalist would hardly think of 

 classifying it with them. The thick, broad head, 

 with its large ears, making it appear still wider ; 



AYE-ATE. Thi3 animal, classed with the Lemurs, but differing in many respects 



from all others of that order, is the most peculiar known to naturalists. The picture shows 

 many of its oddities— the long, sprawling fingers, all except the thumb having pointed claws 

 (the third finger being especially long), the loose straggling outer fur that covers a woolly 

 undercoat, the large, naked ears, the long bushy tail, and even the rat-like teeth, are vividly 

 portrayed. {Chiromys madagascariensis.) 



the small, fixed, stirring, glowing eye, with a pupil 

 smaller than that of any nocturnal Monkey ; the 

 mouth, which, shows a certain likeness to a Parrot's 

 beak, the considerable size of the body and the long 

 tail, which, like the body, is clothed scantily with 

 long, stiff, bristle-like hair, and, lastly, the remark- 



able hands with their slender middle fingers— all 

 these peculiarities give the animal so strange an 

 appearance that one vainly cudgels one's brains in 

 the effort to classify it with creatures resembling it. 

 Night !8 Day A cursory glance at the Aye- Aye is 

 to the sufficient to tell the naturalist that hq is 

 Aye-Aye. dealing with a nocturnal animal. The 

 Aye-Aye is more afraid of light than any mammal 

 of which I know anything. A Half-Monkey can be 

 awakened at least ; he gropes around, looks wonder- 

 ingly at the world in daylight, takes some interest 

 in a Beetle humming near by, even licks 

 and strokes his fur ; but when the Aye- 

 Aye has been awakened in the daytime 

 with a great deal of trouble, he seems 

 to be perfectly absent in spirit. Me- 

 chanically he drags himself back into 

 his dark corner, curls himself up, and 

 covers his face with his thick tail, which 

 he rolls around his head like a ring. 

 Every movement, every action of this 

 animal shows a laziness that is un- 

 equaled. Only in full darkness, long 

 after sunset, does he creep out, evi- 

 dently still laboring under the fear that 

 a glimmer of light might shine on him. 

 The light of a candle, which passes un- 

 noticed by all other nocturnal animals, 

 makes him beat a hasty retreat. 



Personal If Sonnerat is correct in 

 Observations of his description, he must 

 the Aye-Aye. have had to deal with 

 an exceptionally sweet-tempered Aye- 

 Aye. The one I saw was anything but 

 good-natured ; on the contrary, he was 

 an irritable, unsympathetic fellow. 

 When he was approached, he spat like 

 a Cat ; when one held out one's hand 

 he made a dash for it, uttering the same 

 spiteful sound. 



The only food the Aye-Aye in Lon- 

 don gets is new milk, with the boiled 

 and grated yelk of an egg stirred in. 

 A little dishful is sufficient for his daily 

 sustenance. He uses both his hands in 

 eating ; and with them he throws the 

 liquid into his mouth. So far he has 

 refused to eat meat. 



These few facts I noted down in 1863, 

 and will now give the observations of 

 Pollen, dated 1868, as they afford a few 

 particulars about the Aye-Aye in his 

 wild state. He says : " This animal, so 

 interesting to science, has a predilec-^ 

 tion for the bamboo forests in the in- 

 ner parts of the large island. It feeds 

 on the pith of the bamboo and sugar- 

 cane, but also on Beetles and' theii 

 larvae. To get at the food, it gnaws an 

 aperture in the stem of the plant, inserts 

 its slender middle finger and scoops 

 out the pith or the insects it may con- 

 tain. Its sleepiness by day equals its 

 activity by night. From sundawn it 

 sleeps, hiding its head between its legs, and curl- 

 ing its tail around it. At night it climbs and jumps, 

 investigating all crevices and openings in old trees 

 in its search for food, and retires before daybreak. 

 Its cry is a loud grunt, and is frequently heard dur- 

 ing the night. 



