28 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
softest moss, have no tails. The strangest 
of all are two creatures called the SLENDER 
Loris and the Stow Loris. The slender 
loris, which has the ordinary furry coat of 
the lemurs, and no tail, moves on the 
branches exactly as does a chameleon. 
Each hand or foot is slowly raised, brought, 
forward, and set down again. The fingers 
then as slowly close on the branch till its 
grasp is secure. It is like a slow-working 
mechanical toy. Probably this is a habit, 
now instinctive, gained by ages of cautiously 
approaching insects. But the result is to 
give the impression that the creature is, 
almost an automaton. 
Madagascar is the main home of the 
lemurs, though some of the related animals 
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S,] [North Finchley 
RING-TAILED LEMUR 
This lemur is often kept as a domestic animal, and allowed to run about the ‘ : : 
house like a cat are also found in Africa and in the East 
Indies. But the dense forests of the great 
island are full of these curious nocturnal beasts, of which there are so many varieties presenting 
very slight differences of form and habit, that naturalists have some difficulty in giving even a 
complete list of their species. Add to this that nearly all of them are intensely and entirely 
nocturnal, and the scarcity of data as to their habits is easily accounted for. When seen by us, 
their faces all lack expression—that is to say, the eyes, which mainly give expression, seem’ 
entirely vacant and meaningless. But this is due to their special adaptation to seeing in the dark 
tropical night. By day the pupil of the eye almost disappears. If only we could also see in 
the dark, the eyes of the lemur might have as much expression as those of a faithful dog. The 
change which night makes in their general demeanour is simply miraculous. By day many of 
them are like hibernating animals, almost incapable of movement. When once the curtain of 
night has fallen, they are as active as squirrels, and as full of play as a family of kittens. The 
RINnG-TAILED Lemur is often kept as a pet, both in Madagascar and in the Mauritius. It is 
one of the very few which are diurnal in their habits. When ina hurry it jumps along, standing 
on its hind feet, like a little kangaroo, but holding its tail upright benae its back. It will 
follow people up-stairs in this way, jumping from step to step, 
with its front paws outstretched, as if it were addressing an "~~ oe 
audience. The French call these day lemurs Maxis. The 
ring-tailed lemur lives largely among rocks and _precipices. 
Most of these creatures live upon fruit, the shoots and leaves . | 
of trees, and other vegetable food. But, like the squirrel, they 
have no objection to eggs and nestlings, and also kill and eat 
any small birds and insects. Some of the smaller kinds are 
almost entirely insect-feeders. The largest kind of lemur 
belongs to the group known as the Inpris. The BLack-anp- 
WHITE INDRI measures about two feet in length. It has onlya 
rudimentary tail, large ears, and a sharp-pointed nose. The 
amount of white colouring varies much in different individ- 
uals. This variation in colouring—a very rare feature among 
wild mammalia, though one of the first changes shown when A DWARF LEMUR 
animals are domesticated—is also found in the next three — pye.¢ tiny animals take the place of the dor 
species, called Sirakas. The DiapeMeED Siraka, the WooLLy mouse in Madagascar 
be 4 av = 
hoto by L. Medland, F,Z.S., North Finchley 
