FIG. 175. Vari.
The maucauco is a beautiful animal; he is remarkable for the largeness of his eyes, and the length of the hind legs, which by far exceed those before, and for his long and handsome tail which is continually elevated, and in motion, and upon which are thirty rings alternately black and white, all very distinct and separate from each other. He is of a gentle disposition, and although he greatly resembles the monkeys in many particulars, he has not any of their malicious dispositions. When in a state of liberty, they are frequently seen at Madagascar in companies of thirty or forty together. This animal is neither mischievous nor ferocious; but as he is always in motion, it is customary to keep him chained when in a state of captivity, for he may be rendered so tame as to be let loose without any danger of his quitting his master. When he moves, it is in an oblique direction, like all animals which have hands instead of feet. He jumps with greater facility than he walks, and is so silent an animal, that his voice is seldom heard, except when irritated, and then he utters a sharp, but very short cry. He sleeps in a sitting posture, with his muzzle resting on his breast. His body is not thicker than that of a cat, but it is longer, and he appears to be larger than he really is from the length of his legs. His hair is very soft, although it stands almost upright. The genital parts of the male maucauco are small and concealed, while those of the mongous are disproportionally large and apparent.
The mongous is less than the maucauco, but his hair is likewise short, silky, and a little curled. His nose is thicker, and resembles that of the vari. I had a mongous in my possession for several years; his coat was brown, his eyes yellow, his nose black, and his ears short. He had a custom of playing with, and biting his own tail, and by this method destroyed four or five of the last vertebræ. He was very slovenly, and so troublesome that we were obliged to keep him chained. Whenever he got loose, he visited the shops in the neighbourhood, and would make free with fruit, sugar, sweetmeats, &c. and to obtain which, he would open the boxes that contained them. At such times it was difficult to retake him, and he would bite even those he best knew. He was almost continually grumbling, and when weary of being alone, he made a loud noise which somewhat resembled the croaking of a frog. This was a male animal, and had extremely large testicles for the size of his body. He was fond of she-cats, but his connection with them was too slight to be productive. He was very fearful of the cold and wet, and never stirred far from the fire-side, where he sat upright to warm himself. He was fed with bread and fruits; his tongue was rough, like that of a cat, and he would lick a person’s hand until it became inflamed, and if not guarded against would generally end with a bite. He died with the cold in the winter, 1750, although he never stirred from the fire-side. He was very brisk in his motions, and sometimes petulant. He often slept in the day, or rather dozed, for his sleep was so light, that he was disturbed with the least noise.
There are many varieties of the mongous both in colour and size. The one we have just mentioned was quite brown, and about the size of a middling cat. We saw one which, though adult, was not bigger than the loir. If this small mongous had not perfectly resembled the great one in every respect but in size, it would certainly have been a different species; but the resemblance was so perfect, that we think ourselves justifiable in ranking them together.
The vari is much longer, stronger, and wilder, than the maucauco, and is even dangerous in its free state. Travellers tell us, “that these animals are as furious as tigers, and very difficult to be tamed; and that their voice is so very loud, that when there are only two together in the woods, it might be imagined the noise proceeded from a hundred.” The voice of the vari is somewhat like the roaring of the lion, and is very alarming to those who hear it for the first time. This astonishing power of voice in an animal of so middling a size, depends on the singular structure of the windpipe, the two branches of which enlarge and form a concavity near its entrance into the tubes of the lungs. Thus he differs greatly from the maucauco both by nature and conformation. His hair in general is much longer, and he has a kind of ruff round the neck, consisting of very long hair, which forms a very apparent character, and by which he may easily be distinguished. In colour he varies from quite black to white, and his hair, though very long and soft, stands very nearly upright. His muzzle is thicker and longer than that of the maucauco. His ears are much shorter, and edged with long hairs; and his eyes are of so deep an orange-colour, that they appear to be red.
The maucauco, the mongous, and the vari, are all of the same country; and seem to be confined to Madagascar, Mozambique, and the neighbouring lands of those islands. It does not appear, by the testimony of any traveller, that they are to be found in any other part of the world; and seem to be in the Old Continent, what the opossums are in the New. In respect to shape, the makis seem to fill up the shade between the long-tailed monkey, and lower orders of quadrupeds; for they have four hands and a long tail like monkeys, and at the same time, have a long muzzle like foxes and polecats. In their manners, the makis, however, partake more of the monkey, for although they sometimes feed upon flesh, and take pains to seize on birds, they are less carnivorous than frugivorous; and even in a domestic state they prefer roots, fruit, and bread, to flesh, raw or roasted.
END OF THE EIGHTH VOLUME.
T. Gillet, Printer, Wild-Court.
