Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., North Finchley.
COQUEREL'S LEMUR.
A lemur which strongly objects to being awakened in the daytime.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.] [North Finchley.
RUFFED LEMUR.
Another of the nocturnal lemurs. It lives mainly on fruit and insects.
The True Lemurs
Of these there are several species, all confined to Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. One of the best known is the Ring-tailed Lemur, mentioned above. It is called Lemur Catta, the Cat Lemur, from being so often kept in domestication. The Weasel Lemur, the Grey Lemur, the Mouse Lemur, the Gentle Lemur, the Sportive Lemur, the Crowned Lemur, and Coquerel's Lemur, all represent various small, pretty, and interesting varieties of the group. The Black-and-white Lemur, one of the larger kinds, is capable of domestication. A specimen kept in a London house, where the present writer saw it, was always called "Pussy" by the children. The other small kinds are very like squirrels, mice, weasels, and other creatures, with which they have no connection. It seems as though the curiously limited and primitive fauna of Madagascar tried to make up for its want of variety by mimicking the forms of other animals, and something of the same kind is seen in Australia, where the marsupials take the place of all kinds of ordinary mammals. There are marsupial rats, marsupial wolves, marsupial squirrels, and even marsupial moles. The small squirrel and rat-like lemurs are called Chirogales. Coquerel's Lemur is really a chirogale. It is a quaint and by no means amiable little animal, sleeping obstinately all day, and always ready to growl and bite if disturbed. Its colour is brownish grey and cream-colour. A pair of these, rolled up tightly into balls in a box of hay, will absolutely refuse to move, even when handled. They only feed by night.