The Galagos.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.] [North Finchley.
GARNETT'S GALAGO.
One of the squirrel-like lemuroids.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.] [North Finchley.
MAHOLI GALAGO
This little animal is a native of East Africa. It has very large eyes, and fur as soft as the chinchilla's.
An allied group, confined to tropical Africa, is that of the Galagos. They are most beautiful little creatures, whose nearest relatives are the Malagasy lemurs. Generally speaking, they have even more exquisite fur than the lemurs. It is almost as soft as floss silk, and so close that the hand sinks into it as into a bed of moss. The colour of the fur is rich and pleasing, generally some shade of brown. The head is small, the nose pointed, and the ears thin, hairless, and capable of being folded up, like the wings of a beetle. But the most beautiful feature of the galagos is their eyes. These are of immense size, compared with the head. The eye is of the richest and most beautiful brown, like a cairngorm stone, but not glassy or clear. Though quite translucent, the eye is marked with minute dividing-lines, like the grain in an agate—a truly exquisite object. When handled or taken in the arms, the little galago clasps the fingers or sleeve tightly, as if it thought it was holding a tree, and shows no disposition to escape. A family of three or four young ones, no larger than mice, with their large-eyed mother attending to them, forms an exquisitely dainty little group. The galagos vary from the size of a squirrel to that of a small cat. The kind most often seen in England is the Maholi Galago from East Africa. Another species comes from Senegal, and others from Calabar and the forests of the Gold Coast. Garnett's Galago, another species, is shown above. They may be regarded as nocturnal tropical lemuroids, analogous to the chirogales of Madagascar. It has been suggested, with great probability, that the intensely drowsy sleep of many of the lemuroid animals corresponds to the hibernation of many northern mammals. Tropical animals often become torpid to avoid the famine caused by the hot season, just as creatures in cold countries hibernate to avoid the hunger which would otherwise come with winter.