242 
LEMURS. 
posed of a mixture of longer stiffish hairs, with an under-coat of more bushy and 
shorter ones. The prevailing colour is dark brown, tending to black; the throat 
being yellowish-grey, and the under-parts showing a rufous tinge. Some of the 
longer hairs on the back are whitish, thus producing a somewhat mottled appear¬ 
ance in the fur. 
The aye-aye was discovered by the French traveller Sonnerat—-who likewise 
first obtained the indri—as far back as the year 1780; and it was described in 
the first year of the present century by Baron Cuvier, who regarded it as a kind 
of squirrel. Nothing more was heard of the creature from Sonnerat’s time till 
1860, when specimens were sent to this country, and described by Sir Richard 
Owen. The following account of the habits of the aye-aye in its native land was 
published in 1882 by Mr. L. Baron, a missionary in Madagascar. “ The aye-aye,” 
writes Mr. Baron, “ lives in the dense parts of the great forest that runs along the 
eastern border of the central plateau of the island, but only in that part of it which 
separates the Sihanaka province from that of the Betsimisaraka, and which is 
about twenty-five miles from the east coast, in latitude 17° 22" S., or thereabouts. 
Possibly there are other parts of the country where the aye-aye is found; but so 
far as my knowledge extends (and I have made inquiries in different parts of the 
island), this is the only region where the creature finds its home . . . From what 
I have gathered from the natives, it seems to be pretty common, its nocturnal 
habits, and the superstitious awe with which it is regarded (and of which I shall 
speak presently) accounting for its apparent rarity. 
“ The native name of the animal is Haihay (Hihi); but this is not derived 
from the exclamations of surprise which the natives exhibited at the sight of an 
unknown animal, but is simply onomatopoetic, the creature’s call being haihay , 
haihay. The animal, as is well known, is nocturnal in its habits, prowling about 
in pairs—male and female. It has but one young one at birth. It builds a nest 
about 2 feet in diameter, of twigs and dried leaves, in the dense foliage of the 
upper branches of trees. In this it spends the day in sleep. The nest is entered 
by a hole at the side. The teeth are used in scratching away the bark of trees in 
search of insects, and the long claw in digging out the prey when found. A 
white insect called Andraitra (possibly the larva of some beetle), seems to form its 
chief food. I was told that it frequently taps the bark with its fore-feet, and then 
listens for the movement of its prey beneath, thus saving itself useless labour. It 
does not flee at the sight of man, showing that for generations it has not been 
molested by him ; which is indeed true, as the following will show. The natives 
have a superstitious fear of the creature, believing that it possesses some super¬ 
natural power by which it can destroy those who se,ek to capture it or to do it 
harm. The consequence of this is that it is with the greatest difficulty one can 
obtain a specimen. With most of the people no amount of money would be a suffi¬ 
cient inducement to go in pursuit of the creature, ‘ because,’ say they, ‘ we value 
our own lives more than money.’ It is only a few of the more daring spirits 
among them, who knowing the odiny, that is the secret by which they can disarm 
it of its dreaded power, have the courage to attempt its capture. Occasionally it is 
brought to Tamatave for sale, where it realises a good sum. Now and then it is 
accidentally caught in the traps which the natives set for lemurs; but the owner 
