THE MAHOLI GALAGO.[133]
MONTEIRO’S GALAGO.
(From a Photograph by Murie.)
Originally discovered and described by the late Sir Andrew Smith in his “South African Zoology,” this is one of the most charming and interesting little creatures imaginable. The general colouring of the upper parts is a yellowish or brownish-grey, with slightly darker brindling on the back, a broad nose-streak, cheeks and throat white, and a tinge of yellow intermixed with the white of the belly and inside of the limbs. The great tender-looking eyes are of a deep topaz yellow; the ears, flesh-tint inside and downy-white outside, are very big, and betimes are rapidly folded together like those of Garnett’s Galago, giving the creature great variety of expression. The head is somewhat globular, with a short, high, almost pointed nose. The delicate woolly fur of the body lengthens and darkens on the tail, most so towards its end. Smith observes that they spring from branch to branch, and tree to tree, with extraordinary facility, and always seize with one of their fore-feet the branch upon which they intend to rest. In their manners they manifest considerable resemblance to Monkeys, particularly in their propensity to the practice of ridiculous grimaces and gesticulations. It spends the daytime in the nests which it forms for itself in the forks of branches, or in the cavities of decayed trees; and in these nests the females also produce and rear their young, of which there are generally two at a birth. Sir John Kirk found it common among the hills of Kebrabassa, Batoka, and Nyassa, in East Africa. He says, singly and in pairs they came about the camp-fires at night, and in the dim light resembled a Bat in movements, by crossing from side to side, at single leaps, distances of six feet. A pair which lived a few years ago in the Zoological Gardens were a most interestingly tender couple. The day saw them nestled lovingly in their little box, and as night wore on they would peep out and cautiously and by stealth venture into their more spacious cage. Creeping down the branch, which served as a ladder, so noiselessly that not a movement could be heard, they would suddenly spring hither and thither, not like ordinary quadrupeds, but in a manner only to be compared with the leap and dart of a Tree Frog (Hyla). Approaching a dish of Meal-worms laid out for them, they would snap them up with their forepaws so quickly that the eye could not follow the motion; this rapidity of action equalled the Chamæleon’s tongue, whose protrusion and withdrawal baffles the eye, the fly gone being the main fact the observer is cognisant of. They seemed heartily to enjoy the Meal-worms, these being dainties in comparison with their ordinary food, which was sopped bread, rice and milk, and fruit. They were much more timid creatures than the impudent, rollicking Garnett’s Galago,[134] whose habits were noticed in the beginning of our description of the Lemuroids. Neither were they by any means as noisy; indeed they seldom if ever uttered a sound, and that was only a subdued warning note. As regards their Monkey-like gestures, hinted at by Smith, this pair never showed any, their manner being rather Squirrel-like than otherwise. Occasionally a hasty contraction or curling together of each capacious ear simulated the scared grimace of a Monkey, but this action was one of surprise or timidity, and not that of the drollery and mischief of Monkey habit. On the whole, these Maholi Galagos appear to be animals of lower intelligence than the Monkey tribe.
THE GRAND, OR THICK-TAILED GALAGO.[135]
This handsome animal comes from both East and West Africa south of the Equator, and is about as large as a Cat, with a great bushy tail some three or four inches longer than the body. This appendage it carries aloft very majestically, or swerves it to and fro as a kind of rudder in climbing, occasionally sweeping it along the back and belly, or curling it around the body after the manner of the Lemurs. Being nocturnal in its habits, the eyes, which are large, and with great wide dark pupils and a brown-red iris, have a glassy, glimmering appearance in daylight, but look like balls of fire at night. The ears are a remarkable feature: about a third shorter than the head, they stand out like great, flattish, elliptical-mouthed trumpets, ever changing position and shape, and catching all sounds, and they are nearly bare within and slightly hairy outside. This animal has fur of a uniformly dark brown, and this colour mainly distinguishes it from
MONTEIRO’S GALAGO.[136]
This short description of the Thick-tailed Galago in a great many respects answers to another, which merits the title of “Grand,” if dimensions a grade larger deserve it. One was obtained at Cuis Bay, south of Loanda, and was conveyed to England in the living state, being supposed to be only a pale variety of the last-mentioned species. The only visible difference from the latter seems to be that of colour, even this slightly varying. It is of a light chinchilla-grey all over, save the tail and the throat, which are nearly white. The nose is black and bare, and the feet are deep brown. The entire length of the animal is twenty-eight inches, whereof the tail is sixteen. The ears are a couple of inches long, and blackish. Mr. Bartlett remarks that when these are thrown forwards they give the head a resemblance to that of the Aye-Aye; but when they are folded back and down the physiognomy approaches that of the Douroucouli. Sir John Kirk (who accompanied Dr. Livingstone) says: “While the G. maholi is peculiar to the interior, where its geographical range seems to be great, the other, or Great-tailed Galago (G. Monteiri), is confined to the maritime region—so far as I know, never penetrating beyond the band of wood known generally as the mangrove forests. By the Portuguese it is named ‘Rat of the Cocoa-nut Palm,’ that being its favourite haunt by day, nestling among the fronds; but if it be disturbed, performing feats of agility, and darting from one palm to another. It will spring with great rapidity, adhering to any object as if it were a lump of wet clay.
PALM OF HAND OF GARNETT’S GALAGO.
(Original after Murie.)