Remarks on Pi crop us Edulis, Geoffroy. 35 



The Flying Fox, or " Badoor" is very easily tamed. It 

 will eat or drink from the hand a day or two after capture, 

 even when wounded. It drinks eagerly at all hours, lapping 

 milk or water with its long pointed tongue, and it readily 

 learns to eat in the day time as well as at night. I have 

 kept one now, the wing of which was broken by shot, many 

 weeks. e Hookey,' as he has been named, has become per- 

 fectly familiar, rather fearless than tame, for he attacks 

 the approaching hand, tooth and nail, (literally,) although he 

 will eat and drink from it. He is accommodated with a high 

 narrow box, having a projecting grating, to which he hangs 

 suspended, endeavouring to grapple all passers with sound 

 hook or thumb claw, to see whether they have any eatables 

 upon them. When angry, he opens the mouth, growling or 

 cackling in the fashion of a monkey, and striking out forcibly 

 with the afore-mentioned claw or hook. If the contest w r ax 

 too warm for him, he swings round, and strides back into 

 his box, head downwards all the time, of course. 



The modus copulandi must be, I imagine, vis-a-vis. The 

 female generally brings forth one young one, which ad- 

 heres firmly to the breast by means of its claws, retaining 

 its position whether the dam be flying or at rest. They 

 may bring forth two, but I have seen several old females fly- 

 ing about with a single young one sticking on to them, never 

 with more. The young are born about the end of March 

 and April ; they are I believe blind when exuded, and they 

 continue a 'fixture' on the mother till the end of May or 

 early in June, when they are nearly as big as herself. 



I should be glad to know whether the present subject is 

 the Pteropus Edulis or Javanicus of Dr. Horsfield. Geof- 

 froy's Cuvier merely describes the animal as black, with top 

 of neck and back tawny. No mention is made of the whole 

 of the under-parts being tawny or brown. The expanse of 

 wings is also given as above 5 feet. The specimen 1 have 

 here described was the largest of 8 or 9, and not above 4 



