178 INDRIS 



of the outlying islands near Madagascar. This animal is gregarious 

 and goes in troops of considerable numbers, is the largest of the Lemu- 

 roides, and is not nocturnal. One of its names is Amboanala or 'Dog 

 of the Forest,' so called on account of the howls it utters, and which 

 resemble those of a dog. Its voice is very powerful, the laryngeal 

 sac contributing to this, and enabling the creature to utter loud cries. 

 It lives in the trees and subsists mainly on fruits of various kinds, 

 but will eat the brains of any bird it can catch. Its melancholy cry is 

 frequently heard in the forest resembling that uttered by a person in 

 distress. According to Dr. Vinson the natives free these animals if 

 they find one in captivity and bury them when dead. The Betanemena 

 tribe relate a legend of a certain tribe which was at war with neighbors 

 and fled for refuge into the forest. Its enemy pursuing and guided 

 as supposed by human voices, saw before them a troup of Indri, and 

 believing those they were following had been changed into beasts, 

 they fled terror stricken, while the fugitives vowed eternal gratitude 

 to their deliverers, and have never since harmed them. 



