28 



The Living Animals of the World 



Phoio % L. ilcdlaml, F.Z.S.] 



RIXG-TAILED LEMUR. 



[Sorth Finchley. 



This lemur is often kept as a domestic animal, and allowed to nin about the 

 house like a cat. 



same lovely fur, like softest moss, have 

 no tails. The strangest of all are two 

 creatures called the Slender Loris and 

 the Slow Lorls. 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 gi-asp 

 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 

 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 exjiression 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 i)lay as a family of kittens. The Rixg-tailei) Lemur is 

 often kept as a pet, both in Madagascar and in the jMauritius. It is one of the very 

 few which are diurnal in their habits. When in a luirry it jumps along, standing on its 

 hind feet, like a little kangaroo, but holding its tail upright 



behind its l)ack. It will follow people upstairs in this — ] 



way, jumping from stej) to ste}i, with its front paws out- 

 stretched, as if it were addressing an audience. The 

 French call these day lemurs Makls. Tlio ring-tailed lemur 



lives largely among rocks and preci[)ices. JMost 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 

 almo.st entirely insect-feeders. Tlie largest kind of lemur 

 belongs to the group known as the Indris. The Blac]<- 

 AND-WHITE Indki measures about 2 feet in length. It has 

 only a rudimentary tail, large ears, and a sharp-pointed 

 nose. The amount of white colouring varies much in different 

 individuals. This variation in colouring — a very rare feature 

 among wild mammalia, though one of the first changes 

 shown when animals are domesticated— is also found in the 

 next three species, called Sifakas. The Diademed Sifaka, 



Phcitu bi) L. Mi.iU,i,,i,l, F.Z.S., Sudli Fliiddqi. 



A D\yAKF LEMUR. 



These tiny aniii.an take the place of the 

 dotniouse in Mad;igascar. 



