EARLY DAYS AND EARLY WAYS 15 



one day in December, I captured a female of our common 

 Buenos Ayrean species {Molossus bonariensis) with her 

 young attached to her, so large that it seemed incredible 

 she should be able to fly and take insects with such a 

 weight to drag her down. The young were about a third 

 less in size than the mother, so that she had to carry a 

 weight greatly exceeding that of her own body. They 

 were fastened to her breast and belly, one on each side, 

 as when first born ; and possibly the young bat does 

 not change its position, or move, like the young developed 

 opossum, to other parts of the body, until mature enough 

 to begin an independent life. On forcibly separating 

 them from their parent, I found they were not yet able 

 to fly, but when set free fluttered feebly to the ground. 

 This bat certainly appeared more burdened with its 

 young than any animal I had ever observed." 



In the days when Mr. Hudson was writing, the fact that 

 two young were produced at a birth was regarded as a 

 somewhat unusual event — possibly as rare as is the case 

 of human twins. Later, however, it was found that not 

 only is the production of twins by certain species no 

 unusual occurrence, but that in a North American species 

 no less than four young are born at a time ; and the 

 presence on the mother of two pairs of nipples shows 

 that this is the normal size of the family. Now, hitherto 

 it has been taken for granted that young bats remain 

 attached to their parents from the moment of their birth 

 till they attain strength enough to fly. Hence no little 

 astonishment has been felt at the prowess of species which 

 could not only fly burdened with a family heavier than 

 the parental body, but could perform the swift and 

 complex aerial evolutions necessary for the capture of 

 their agile prey, when so loaded. 



