of the Cebidæ family. In it the prehensile tail reaches its perfection.
It is a remarkably sensitive organ, answering the purpose, as the Rev.
J. G. Wood puts it, of "a fifth hand," being capable of use "for any
purpose to which the hand could be applied," and for hooking out objects
from places "where a hand could not be inserted." According to Mr. Wood
they wrap their tails about them to protect themselves from cold, to
which they are very sensitive, and hold on by them to the branches of
trees with such tenacity that they remain suspended after death. The
prehensile part of the tail is naked and of extreme sensibility. The
tail is also used to preserve balance when walking erect, for which
purpose it is thrown up and curled over. The appearance of these
monkeys, as they leap from branch to branch in their native woods,
swinging by their tails, and often hanging on to those of each other,
until a living bridge is formed from tree to tree, is exceedingly
picturesque.
The Howling Monkeys.
The Howling Monkeys form the single genus of the second sub-family of
the Cebidæ--the genus Mycetes. There are a number of species, popularly
known as the "Golden Howler," the "Black Howler," &c. &c. They are
chiefly characteristic for the attribute to which they owe their name.
The howl is a loud mournful cry which can be heard at a great distance,
and is said by Wallace to proceed from the leader of the band who howls
for the whole company. These animals are larger and more clumsy than the
spider monkeys and therefore less agile; they have powerful, prehensile
tails. The "Howler" is much prized by the Indians as an article of food.
The Bearded Saki.
The third sub-family of the Cebidæ includes some dozen species which
inhabit the forests of Equatorial America. They are of the genus
_Pithecia_, and some species have broad beards and bushy tails. The head
of the Bearded Saki (_Pithecia Satanas_) has a singularly human
appearance.
The Douroucouli.
The fourth sub-family of the Cebidæ includes several genera and a number
of species, of these the Douroucouli (_Nyctipithecus felinus_) is one of
the most interesting. It is a small monkey, measuring only thirteen
inches, apart from its tail, which is eighteen inches long: It is
catlike in some of its habits, sleeping during the day, and prowling
about at night in search of food, which it finds in fruits, insects and
small birds. It has a catlike mew, though it often makes a louder cry
more resembling the noise of the jaguar.
The Marmosets.
The fifth family of the quadrumana comprises the marmosets, of which
there are two genera--the _Hapale_ and the _Midas_. These are very
small, measuring about eight inches without the tail, which is eleven
inches long. The marmoset is one of the prettiest of the monkeys, and,
though at first shy, soon becomes playful and affectionate. Marmosets
are one of the few species that breed in confinement. Sir William
Jardine describes a marmoset who gave birth to three offspring in Paris.
One of these, for some reason, displeased her, and she killed it, but
upon the others beginning to suck the maternal instinct awoke, and she
became as affectionate as she was before careless. "The male seemed more
affectionate and careful of them than the mother, and assisted in the
charge. The young generally keep upon the back or under the belly of the
female, and Cuvier observed, that when the female was tired of carrying
them, she would approach the male with a shrill cry, who immediately
relieved her with his hands, placing them upon his back, or under his
belly, where they held themselves and were carried about until they
became restless for milk, when they were given over to the mother who,
in her turn, would again endeavour to get rid of them."
SUB-ORDER II. The Lemurs.
The lemurs and their allied forms make up the remaining families of the
quadrumana. These are three. The _Lemuridæ_, of which there are many
species, most of which belong to Madagascar, others to Africa, Asia, and
the Indian Archipelago; the _Tarsidæ_, which hail from Sumatra and
Borneo; and the _Chiromyidæ_, of which the aye-aye is the
representative. The _Lemuridæ_ are divided into four sub-families by
Professor Mivart. I, the Indri; II, the true Lemurs; III, the slow
Lemurs and IV, the Galagos. The lemur is nocturnal in its habits and
noiseless in its movements. Some of its species much resemble the cat in
appearance though its four hands unmistakably demonstrate its order. Sir
William Jones describes a Slow Lemur (_Nycticebus tardigradus_), which
he had in his possession, as "gentle except in the cold season, when his
temper seemed wholly changed." This animal expressed great resentment
when disturbed unseasonably. From half an hour after sunrise to half an
hour before sunset he slept without any intermission, rolled up like a
hedgehog: and as soon as he awoke he began to prepare himself for the
occupations of his approaching day, licking and dressing himself like a
cat--an operation which the flexibility of his neck and limbs enabled
him to perform very completely. He was then ready for a slight
breakfast, after which he commonly took a short nap; but when the sun
was quite set he recovered all his vivacity. "Generally he was not
voracious, but of grasshoppers he never could have enough; and passed
the whole night during the hot season in prowling for them. He used all
his paws indifferently as hands." Mrs. Bowdich tells of one of these
animals, procured by Mr. Baird at Prince of Wales Island, who shared a
cage with a dog to whom he became greatly attached, while nothing could
reconcile him to a cat, which constantly jumped over his back, causing
him great annoyance.
The Tarsier.
The tarsier (_Tarsius spectrum_) is a small, kitten-faced animal with
long hind legs, which enable it to leap like a frog. It is nocturnal in
habit, and is found in Sumatra, Borneo, and elsewhere.
The Aye-Aye.
The aye-aye (_Chiromys madagascariensis_) is a remarkable little animal
resembling, as Professor Owen says, in size and shape the domestic cat,
its head and ears being larger, and its hind legs and tail longer than
those of the cat. Dr. Sandwich, writing of one he had in his possession,
says:--"The thick sticks I put into his cage were bored in all
directions by a large and destructive grub, called the _montouk_. Just
at sunset the aye-aye crept from under his blanket, yawned, stretched
and betook himself to his tree. Presently he came to one of the
worm-eaten branches, which he began to examine most attentively, and
bending forward his ears, and applying his nose close to the bark, he
rapidly tapped the surface with the curious second digit, as a
woodpecker taps a tree, though with much less noise, from time to time
inserting the end of the slender finger into the worm-holes as a surgeon
would a probe. At length he came to a part of the branch which evidently
gave out an interesting sound, for he began to tear it with his strong
teeth. He rapidly stripped off the bark, cut into the wood, and exposed
the nest of a grub which he daintily picked out of its bed, with the
slender, tapping finger, and conveyed the luscious morsel to his mouth.
But I was yet to learn another peculiarity. I gave him water to drink in
a saucer, on which he stretched out his hand, dipped a finger into it
and drew it obliquely through his open mouth. After a while he lapped
like a cat, but his first mode of drinking appeared to me to be his way
of reaching water in the deep clefts of trees."
ORDER II.
Wing-Handed Animals.
The animals which most nearly resemble the four-handed animals or
quadrumana are the wing-handed animals,--the bats or _Cheiroptera_.
These are of singular appearance and interesting habit. "If," says the
Rev. J. G. Wood, "the fingers of a man were to be drawn out like wire to
about four feet in length, a thin membrane to extend from finger to
finger, and another membrane to fall from the little finger to the
ankles, he would make a very tolerable imitation of a bat."--Of course,
it should be added, making allowance for proportion, the full grown male
bat, of the largest species, rarely exceeding twelve inches in height
from head to foot. Bats' wings are highly nervous and sensitive, so much
so as to render their owners almost independent of sight. Besides being
"well adapted for flight," says Dr. Percival Wright, "they are still
capable in a small measure of seizing, differing thus from the anterior
limbs of Birds."
Bats.
Dr. Dobson divides the order _Cheiroptera_ into two sub-orders: I, The
Great Bats and II, The Smaller Bats. Of these there are numerous genera
and a large number of species. THE GREAT BATS abound in the tropical and
sub-tropical regions of the East, where they live on fruit, and from
this circumstance are classified as "fruit-eating bats," though they are
sometimes called "flying-foxes." The largest of these inhabit Sumatra
and Java, living in large companies, sleeping by day and foraging by
night. A large tree serves them for a sleeping-chamber, where,
suspending themselves head downwards from the branches, they wrap their
wings about them in lieu of blankets and sleep out the sunshine. After
sunset they gradually awake and proceed to ravage any fruit preserves
which may be within reach, committing serious depredations while the
owners outsleep the moon. According to Mr. Francis Day, "they do very
great injury to cocoa-nut plantations and mangoe gardens." "Their
habits," says Mr. Day, "are very intemperate, and they often pass the
night drinking the toddy from the chatties in the cocoa-nut trees, which
results either in their returning home in the early morning in a state
of extreme and riotous intoxication, or in being found the next day at
the foot of the trees, sleeping off the effects of their midnight
debauch." THE SMALLER BATS include several families, numerous genera,
and a large number of species to be found in almost all parts of the
world. These bats are chiefly insect-eaters, though included among them
are the vampire bats and the Megaderma lyra which have the reputation
of being cannibalistic. The various families are "The Horseshoe Bats,"
"The Nycteridæ," "The Vespertilionidæ," "The Emballonuridæ," and "The
Phyllostomidæ.
The Common English Bats.
The common English bats belong to the Vespertilionidæ. The Pipistrelle
feeds upon insects but will eat flesh if opportunity serves. In his
"Natural History of Selbourne," Mr. White describes a tame bat which he
saw, which would take flies out of a person's hand. "If you gave it
anything to eat," he says, "it brought its wings round before the mouth,
hovering and hiding its head in the manner of birds of prey when they
feed. The adroitness it showed in shearing off the wings of the flies,
which were always rejected, pleased me much. Insects seemed to be most
acceptable, though it did not refuse raw flesh when offered; so that the
notion that bats go down chimneys and gnaw men's bacon seems no
improbable story." The Long-eared Bat, _Plecotus auritus_, is also
common in England. "Its ears," says Mr. Wood, "are about an inch and a
half in length and have a fold in them reaching almost to the lips,"
hence its name. "It is very easily tamed."
The Vampire Bat.
The Vampire Bat which belongs to South America has been invested with a
halo of romance by the stories which have been told about its sanguinary
character. "It lives," says the Rev. J. G. Wood, "on the blood of
animals, and sucks usually while its victim sleeps. The extremities,
where the blood flows freely, as the toe of a man, the ears of a horse,
or the combs and wattles of fowls, are its favourite spots. When it has
selected a subject, on which it intends to feed, it watches until the
animal is fairly asleep. It then carefully fans its victim with its
wings while it bites a little hole in the ear or shoulder, and through
this small aperture, into which a pin's head would scarcely pass, it
contrives to abstract sufficient blood to make a very ample meal. The
wound is so small, and the bat manages so adroitly, that the victim
does not discover that anything has happened until the morning, when a
pool of blood betrays the visit of the vampire. "The Vampire Bat," says
Professor Darwin, "is often the cause of much trouble by biting the
horses on their withers. The injury is not so much owing to the loss of
blood, as to the inflammation which the pressure of the saddle
afterwards produces. The whole circumstance has lately been doubted in
England. I was therefore fortunate in being present when one was
actually caught on a horse's back. We were bivouacking late one evening,
near Coquimbo, in Chili, when my servant, noticing that one of the
horses was very restive, went to see what was the matter, and fancying
he could distinguish something, suddenly put his hand on the beast's
withers, and secured the vampire. In the morning the spot where the bite
had been inflicted was easily distinguished by its being slightly
swollen and bloody. The third day afterwards we rode the horse without
any ill effects."
A Traveller's Experience.
Captain Steadman, in his "Narrative of a Five Years' Expedition against
the Revolted Negroes of Surinam," relates, that on waking about four
o'clock one morning in his hammock, he was extremely alarmed at finding
himself weltering in congealed blood, and without feeling any pain
whatever. "The mystery was," continues Captain Steadman, "that I had
been bitten by the _Vampyre_ or _Spectre_ of Guiana, which is also
called the _Flying Dog_ of New Spain, and by the Spaniards,
_Perrovolador_. This is no other than a bat of monstrous size, that
sucks the blood from men and cattle while they are fast asleep, even
sometimes till they die; and as the manner in which they proceed is
truly wonderful, I shall endeavour to give a distinct account of it.
Knowing, by instinct, that the person they intend to attack is in a
sound slumber, they generally alight near the feet, where, while the
creature continues fanning with his enormous wings, which keeps one
cool, he bites a piece out of the tip of the great toe, so very small,
indeed, that the head of a pin could scarcely be received into the
wound, which is consequently not painful; yet through this orifice he
continues to suck the blood until he is obliged to disgorge. Cattle they
generally bite in the ear, but always in places where the blood flows
spontaneously."
Megaderma Lyra.
The Vampire Bat of South America has long been credited with
sanguinivorous habits, and until recently was supposed to be the only
bat having such propensities. Mr. Edward Blyth has, however, shown that
the Megaderma Lyra of Asia will sometimes prey upon the smaller species
of bat with which it comes in contact. Mr. Blyth, one evening, observed
a rather large bat of this species enter an outhouse, whereupon he
procured a light, closed the door to prevent escape and then proceeded
to catch the intruder. In the chase the bat dropped what Mr. Blyth at
first took to be a young one, but which proved to be a small Vespertilio
Bat, "feeble from loss of blood, which it was evident the Megaderma had
been sucking from a large, and still bleeding, wound under and behind
the ear." As the Megaderma had not alighted while in the outhouse, Mr.
Blyth concluded "that it sucked the vital current from its victim as it
flew, having probably seized it on the wing, and that it was seeking a
quiet nook where it might devour the body at leisure." Having caught the
Megaderma Mr. Blyth kept both specimens until the next day, and having
examined each separately put them both into a cage, whereupon the
Megaderma attacked the smaller bat "with the ferocity of a tiger";
finding it impossible to escape the cage "it hung by the hind legs to
one side of its prison, and after sucking the victim till no more blood
was left commenced devouring it, and soon left nothing but the head and
some portions of the limbs." "The voidings observed shortly afterwards
in its cage," says Mr. Blyth, "resembled clotted blood, which will
explain the statement of Steadman and others concerning masses of
congealed blood being observed near a patient who has been attacked by a
South American vampire."
ORDER III.
Insect-Eating Animals.
Insect-eating animals (_Insectivora_) include several families, of which
the hedgehogs, the moles and the shrews, are the best known genera. The
Colugo is perhaps the most singular member of the order. According to
some writers his proper place is among the lemurs, and except that his
feet are adorned with claws instead of nails, it is easy to understand
why he might be classed with the quadrumana. The Colugo is covered from
head to foot by a furry membrane, resembling an overcoat open in front
and ending in a three cornered flap at the tail.
The Hedgehog.
The family of the hedgehog contains two genera and a number of species.
Its length is from six to ten inches; the head, back, and sides being
covered with short spines, the under parts with soft hair. It lives in
thickets, and subsists on fruits, roots, and insects. During the winter,
it lies imbedded in moss, or dried leaves, in a state of torpidity. It
inhabits Europe, Asia and Africa. It is valuable in the garden for
destroying the insects, and in the kitchen for the extermination of
cockroaches, beetles and other household pests. For defence, it rolls
itself into a ball in such a manner as to present its prickly spines on
all sides. In this condition it can suffer considerable violence without
injury. Mr. Bell mentions a hedgehog that was in the habit of running to
the edge of an area wall twelve or fourteen feet high, and without a
moment's pause, leap over, contracting into a ball as he fell, and in
this form reaching the ground, where it quietly unfolded itself as if
nothing had happened and ran on its way. It is nocturnal in its habits
and in its natural state lives in pairs. It is easily tamed. A hedgehog
has been trained to serve as a turnspit "as well," says Captain Brown,
"in all respects as the dog of that denomination. In a wild state it
has been known to attack and kill a leveret. In attacking a snake it
will roll itself up between its bites and thus protect itself against
retaliation.
The Mole.
The family of the Talpidæ to which the mole belongs is a large and
interesting one. The common mole "when at rest," says the author of
"Tales of Animals," "bears more resemblance to a small stuffed sack than
to a living animal, its head being entirely destitute of external ears,
and elongated nearly to a point, and its eyes so extremely small and
completely hidden by the fur, that it would not be surprising should a
casual observer conclude it to be blind. This apparently shapeless mass
is endowed with great activity and a surprising degree of strength, and
is excellently suited for deriving enjoyment from the peculiar life it
is designed to lead. It is found abundantly in Europe and North America,
from Canada to Virginia; often living at no great distance from
water-courses, or in dykes thrown up to protect meadows from inundation.
The mole burrows with great quickness, and travels under ground with
much celerity; nothing can be better constructed for this purpose than
its broad and strong hands, or fore paws, armed with long and powerful
claws, which are very sharp at their extremities, and slightly curved on
the inside. Numerous galleries, communicating with each other, enable
the mole to travel in various directions, without coming to the surface,
which they appear to do very rarely, unless their progress is impeded by
a piece of ground so hard as to defy their strength and perseverance.
The depth of their burrows depends very materially on the character of
the soil, and the situation of the place; sometimes running for a great
distance, at a depth of from one to three inches, and sometimes much
deeper. Moles are most active early in the morning, at midday, and in
the evening; after rains they are particularly busy in repairing their
damaged galleries; and in long continued wet weather we find that they
seek the high grounds for security."
An Enterprising Mole.
Though as Captain Brown points out nothing is more fatal to the mole
than excessive rain, which fills their subterranean galleries with
water; the following statement made by Mr. A. Bruce in the Linnæan
Transactions, shows that the animal is not without enterprise on the
water:--"On visiting the Loch of Clunie, which I often did, I observed
in it a small island at the distance of one hundred and eighty yards
from the nearest land, measured to be so upon the ice. Upon the island,
the Earl of Airly, the proprietor, has a castle and small shrubbery. I
remarked frequently the appearance of fresh mole casts, or hills. I for
some time took them for those of the water mouse, and one day asked the
gardener if it was so. No, said he, it was the mole; and that he had
caught one or two lately. Five or six years ago, he caught two in traps;
and for two years after this he had observed none. But, about four years
ago, coming ashore one summer's evening in the dusk, with the Earl of
Airly's butler, they saw at a short distance, upon the smooth water,
some animal paddling towards the island. They soon closed with this
feeble passenger, and found it to be the common mole, led by a most
astonishing instinct from the castle hill, the nearest point of land, to
take possession of this desert island. It had been, at the time of my
visit, for the space of two years quite free from any subterraneous
inhabitant; but the mole has, for more than a year past, made its
appearance again, and its operations I have since been witness to."
The Use of the Mole.
The use of the mole is often said to be far outweighed by the mischief
he perpetrates, the truth appearing to be that like many other animals,
in his own place he is valuable, out of it he is a source of danger.
Both conditions are illustrated by the following, which I quote from
Mrs. Bowdich's "Anecdotes of Animals."
"A French naturalist of the name of Henri Lecourt devoted a great part
of his life to the study of the habits and structure of moles; and he
tells us that they will run as fast as a horse will gallop. By his
observations he rendered essential service to a large district in
France; for he discovered that numbers of moles had undermined the banks
of a canal, and that unless means were taken to prevent the catastrophe,
these banks would give way, and inundation would ensue. By his ingenious
contrivances and accurate knowledge of their habits, he contrived to
extirpate them before the occurrence of further mischief. Moles,
however, are said to be excellent drainers of land; and Mr. Hogg, the
Ettrick Shepherd, used to declare that if a hundred men and horses were
employed to dress a pasture farm of 1500 or 2000 acres, they would not
do it as effectually as moles would do, if left to themselves."
The Shrew.
The shrew family is a large one and widely distributed over the surface
of the earth. The common shrew (_Sorex vulgaris_) is that best known in
England. It resembles the mouse in general form and varies in size and
colour, its usual length, including the tail being about four and a half
inches. Its body is moderately full, its neck short, its head tapering
to a pointed snout, the fore-feet small, the hind-feet larger and the
tail shorter than the body. The shrew is generally found either in
burrows, or among heaps of stones, or in holes made by other animals;
near dung heaps or hayricks, they are more numerous than elsewhere.
Insects are their principal subsistence, but they seem no less fond of
grain, and show a pig's predilection for filth of various sorts. Its
principal enemies are the Kestrel and the Barn Owl. A superstition to
the effect that if the shrew should run over the legs of a cow or a
horse while reposing on the grass it causes lameness, is also
responsible for the destruction of many by ignorant country folk. One
species of the shrew enjoys the reputation of being the smallest living
mammal; it is but an inch and a half long with a tail of an inch in
length. The water shrew is somewhat larger than the common shrew
attaining to a length of five and a half inches including the tail. The
water shrew colonises on the banks of rivers.
ORDER IV.
Flesh-eating Animals.