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NOTES ON THE EGYPTIAN JERBOA {DIPUS 

 JACULUS) IN CAPTIVITY. 



By Geaham Renshaw, M.B. 



The immense number of species of animals which are now 

 kept as pets almost defies enumeration, and it is difficult indeed 

 to select for special notice any single animal ; for all the others 

 compete with it in claiming the attention of those zoologists to 

 whom mammal or bird, reptile or fish, is more attractive in the 

 living state than as a stuffed skin or mounted skeleton in a 

 museum case. The furred and feathered captives of to-day 

 range from the schoolboy's Rabbits and White Mice, Pigeons 

 and Canaries, to the Burchell Zebras and White-tailed Gnus, 

 the Kangaroos and Emus of wealthy acclimatisation societies ; 

 and half-way between these extremes one may place various 

 " out-of-the-way " pets — by no means ordinary domestic animals, 

 yet also by no means unobtainable — such small specimens as 

 Armadillos, Agoutis, Phalangers, and Wallabies. 



Amongst this assemblage of " out-of-the-way" pets is included 

 a pretty little rodent rapidly and deservedly advancing in popu- 

 larity — the Egyptian Jerboa {Dipus jaculus). Not only does its 

 tiny form interest the scientific naturalist, with its quaint little 

 body perched on an absurd pair of stilt-like legs whose dis- 

 proportionate size contrasts strangely with the almost micro- 

 scopic proportions of the fore limbs ; but its beaming eye, 

 vivacious manners, and odd bird-like gait (now running like a 

 Rail, and now hopping like a Sparrow) endear it also to the 

 general public. Having for some considerable time possessed 

 examples of the Egyptian Jerboa, I have had many opportunities 

 for studying their behaviour in captivity, and perhaps the col- 

 lected results of the observations may interest others besides 

 myself. 



The Egyptian Jerboa measures about 14f in. from the snout 

 to the tip of the tail, exclusive of the terminal tuft of hair. The 



