LARGER FLYING-PHALANGER.Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.LARGER FLYING-PHALANGER.A nearly pure white example.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.LARGER FLYING-PHALANGER.A nearly pure white example.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.
LARGER FLYING-PHALANGER.
A nearly pure white example.
The group of the Phalanger Family popularly known asFlying-squirrels, or more correctly asFlying-phalangers, is almost universally admitted to include some of the most beautiful of living mammals. In external structure, so far as their peculiar so-called "flying" mechanism is concerned, these animals coincide in a remarkable manner with the true flying-squirrels, belonging to the Rodent Order, indigenous to the Asiatic and American Continents. In neither instance is there flight, in the true sense of the term, similar to that of birds and bats, but the fore and hind limbs are connected by a parachute-like membrane, which, outstretched when the animal leaps from tree to tree, buoys it up and enables its owner to traverse, in a straight and gradually descending line only, very considerable distances.
The smaller squirrel-like form common to the south-eastern districts of Australia, and on account of its predilection for sweets commonly known as theSugar-squirrel, makes a most charming little pet. For the most part addicted to sleep, and impatient at being disturbed during the day, towards sundown it wakes up, and is full of frolic. One such example was the writer's travelling companion for a considerable interval in Western Australia. While remaining packed conveniently away in a small box throughout the day, it was accustomed to enjoy the liberty of whatever apartment its owner occupied in the evening and throughout the night, returning of its own accord to its sleeping-box with the approach of dawn. On one exceptional occasion, however, Master Tiny, as this individual was named, was missing in the morning from his accustomed crib, and a prolonged search and examination of everycorner and article of furniture that could afford shelter failed to recover him. That the little creature was lost through some one having unwittingly left the door of the apartment open, permitting its escape, was the only and much-deplored conclusion that could be arrived at. Towards evening, however, there was a slight rustle close at hand, and Master Tiny was discovered emerging, like Minerva from the head of Jupiter, from the top of one of the old-fashioned china dogs that decorated the hotel-room mantelpiece. The ornament, seemingly intact from the front, had the back of the head battered in. Through the resulting crevice the little animal had managed to squeeze itself, having come to the conclusion, doubtless, that this newly chosen retreat more nearly resembled the cavernous shelter of its native tree-spout than its accustomed artificially constructed box. This singular domicile Master Tiny was permitted to monopolise for the remainder of his sojourn at that hostelry. One of the favourite diversions of this little phalanger during the evenings was to climb up the curtain and cornice of the room he occupied, and thence hurl himself through the air with outspread parachute to the writer at the opposite end. The apartment, happening to be the commercial room of the hotel, some thirty feet in length, gave him good scope for exercising his characteristic flying leaps. The attitude invariably maintained during these flights is aptly illustrated in the accompanying photograph; the body is never poised with the head inclined downwards, as is commonly depicted in artists' fancy sketches of the animal contained in popular natural histories. A friend of the writer's in Tasmania, who kept one of these flying-phalangers as a household pet, was accustomed to leave a crevice of the window open at night, so that the little fellow could go in and out as it liked. After the manner of most pets, however, a day arrived upon which its box was found vacant, a marauding cat or other disaster having apparently compassed its untimely end.
LESSER FLYING-PHALANGER.Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.LESSER FLYING-PHALANGER.Illustrating position maintained during its remarkable flying leaps.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.LESSER FLYING-PHALANGER.Illustrating position maintained during its remarkable flying leaps.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.
LESSER FLYING-PHALANGER.
Illustrating position maintained during its remarkable flying leaps.
PYGMY FLYING-PHALANGER.Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.PYGMY FLYING-PHALANGER.A life-size photograph. The hairs of the tail in this animal are arranged in two parallel lines, like the vanes of a bird's feather.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.PYGMY FLYING-PHALANGER.A life-size photograph. The hairs of the tail in this animal are arranged in two parallel lines, like the vanes of a bird's feather.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.
PYGMY FLYING-PHALANGER.
A life-size photograph. The hairs of the tail in this animal are arranged in two parallel lines, like the vanes of a bird's feather.
The larger flying-phalanger, the dimensions of our domestic tabby, and with fur as long and as soft as the Persian variety, is less frequently domesticated. It has, in fact, an evil reputation for scratching, biting, and general untamableness. One that was kept for some little time by the late Dr. Bennett, of Sydney, and brought to England, never entirely lost its innate savagery. On the voyage from Australia it became sufficiently tame as to be allowed occasionally to run about on the deck, and was so far amiable as to lay on its back and permit itself to be tickled. On attempting to handle it, however, "it displayed its usual savage disposition, digging its sharp claws and teeth into the bands of its captor." The writer was fortunate in being the recipient in Queensland of a couple of these large phalangers which were exceptions to the usual rule. These specimens—a mother and its young male offspring—also varied in colour from normal examples, which are usually dark slate or blackish brown above and whitish underneath. The mother in this instance was a beautiful cream-white throughout; and her young one, while dark chinchilla-grey upon the back, limbs, and tail, had white ears and breast. Both were very friendly, and would of their own accord climb over their owner's person, seeking in his pockets for hidden lumps of sugar and other acceptable dainties. As with the smaller squirrel-like forms, they slept throughout the greater portion of the day, waking to activity and making excursions in search of their food as soon as the sun went down. The tail of this species of phalanger is abnormally long and furry, but not prehensile. It was observed of them that when feeding leisurely on the gum-tree leaves this appendage was permitted to hang or rest loosely, but that when walking along the branches they would very frequently coil this member into a tight spiral coil, like a watch-spring or the proboscis of a butterfly, against their hindquarters. This phenomenon is apparently unique among mammals. Although generally seeking the darker retreat of their box for their long daylight sleep, the female, more particularly, would frequently simply curl herselfup into a furry white ball in one corner of the cage, the head, limbs, or other features being at such times altogether indistinguishable. The aid of the magnesium flash-light was successfully called into service to secure the photographic likeness of this animal, here reproduced, which was taken while it was enjoying its evening meal.
COMMON GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.COMMON GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.The fur of this species is in great demand for the manufacture of carriage-rugs.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.COMMON GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.The fur of this species is in great demand for the manufacture of carriage-rugs.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.
COMMON GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.
The fur of this species is in great demand for the manufacture of carriage-rugs.
As previously mentioned, some representatives of the flying-phalanger group are no larger than mice, and are furnished in a similar manner with a parachute-like membrane that enables them to take abnormally long flying leaps, or as it were to sail horizontally through the air. ThePygmy Flying-phalanger, whose length of body does not exceed 2½ inches, is one of the most interesting. The tail in this form is also adapted for aerial flotation, the long hairs that grow upon this appendage being arranged in two parallel lines like the vanes of a feather. Its distribution is limited to the south and eastern districts of the Australian Continent. There are also a number of mouse- and squirrel-like phalangers destitute of the flying-membrane, which in this respect very closely resemble in external aspect more typical members of the Rodent Order. One form in particular, theStriped Phalangerof New Guinea, decorated with broad longitudinal black and white stripes, is singularly suggestive of some of the variously striped American squirrels. This interesting island of New Guinea also produces a littlePygmy Phalangerwith a feather-like tail which, except for the absence of a parachute or flying-membrane, is the very counterpart of the Australian kind. Another species, which in shape, size, and more especially with reference to its long, pointed snout, closely resembles a shrew-mouse, is found in Western Australia. The tail of this species, known as theLong-snouted Phalanger, is highly prehensile; and it is also provided with a long, slender, protrusile tongue, with which it abstracts the honey from Banksias and other flowers, upon which it customarily feeds.
The two large phalangers known as theBlackandGreyorVulpine Opossums, which are chiefly laid under contribution for the Australian fur supplies, are provided with prehensile tails, the under side of the extremity of which grasps the supporting fulcrum and is devoid of hair. The adaptation of the tail for use as a fifth hand—as in the New World monkeys—is, however, much more conspicuously manifested in what are known to the colonists as theRing-tailed Opossums, and to zoologists asCrescent-toothed Phalangers. In these the tail tapers to a fine point, and the hair throughout the terminal third of this appendage is so fine and short that it at first sight presents the appearance of being entirely naked. This terminal third of the tail, moreover, in the greater number of species, contrasts with the remaining portion by being white in hue. It occasionally happens, however, that individuals occur which are entirely white. One such which came into the writer's possession was obtained from the Bruni Islands, in the Derwent Estuary, Tasmania, and afterwards became a great pet with the young people at Government House, Hobart. It is an interesting circumstance that the Bruni Islands were noted for the production of albino animals of various descriptions, white kangaroos and white emus having also been obtained from this locality. Probably some peculiarity of the soil, and its action on the vegetable food the animals consumed, played an important part in the unusually frequent occurrence of this phenomenon.
AUSTRALIAN GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.Photo by Henry King][Sydney.AUSTRALIAN GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.On account of its "foxy" appearance, this species is also known as the Vulpine Phalanger.
Photo by Henry King][Sydney.AUSTRALIAN GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.On account of its "foxy" appearance, this species is also known as the Vulpine Phalanger.
Photo by Henry King][Sydney.
AUSTRALIAN GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.
On account of its "foxy" appearance, this species is also known as the Vulpine Phalanger.
FRONT VIEW OF GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.FRONT VIEW OF GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.Displays the bare under-surface of the prehensile tail.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.FRONT VIEW OF GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.Displays the bare under-surface of the prehensile tail.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.
FRONT VIEW OF GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.
Displays the bare under-surface of the prehensile tail.
The ring-tailed opossums differ essentially from the common opossum or phalanger and its allies in their life habits. While these latter habitually take up their abode and bring forth their young in hollow trees, the ring-tailed species construct a regular nest of interlaced sticks, leaves, grass, or any other available material for their domicile. The structure much resembles the nest, or "drey," of our own familiar European squirrel, and may be perched high up among the tree branches or within only a few feet from the ground among the scrub thickets. In New Guinea a variety of these ring-tailed phalangers occurs, not found in Australia, which has no white tip to its tail, and the ears are very short and wide. The group as represented by this species leads to the consideration of the so-calledCuscusesor typical phalangers indigenous to New Guinea and North Queensland, though but rarely seen there, which, as an exception to the Marsupial Tribe, are distributed among the Indo-Malay Islands as far westward as Celebes. In the cuscuses the tail is altogether naked, and pre-eminently prehensile throughout almost its entire terminal moiety; the ears are round and, proportionately, exceedingly small; while the fur is very short, thick, and woolly. Compared with the opossums or phalangers, the cuscuses are very dull and sluggish in their movements, creeping slowly among the branches of the trees to browse on the fruit and leaves which constitute their principal diet. Like the opossums, however, or even to a greater extent, they vary this vegetarian regimen with insects or an occasionally captured bird.
PROFILE VIEW OF GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.PROFILE VIEW OF GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.The opossums are usually shot by moonlight, as seen silhouetted against the sky.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.PROFILE VIEW OF GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.The opossums are usually shot by moonlight, as seen silhouetted against the sky.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.
PROFILE VIEW OF GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.
The opossums are usually shot by moonlight, as seen silhouetted against the sky.
The Cuscuses.
The familiarSpotted Cuscusof New Guinea is the most ornate marsupial mammal. The males, more especially, are as variegated in colour as a tortoiseshell cat, their tints, moreover, closely corresponding in hue with those of the feline. No two individuals, however, are precisely alike in this respect. Usually the ground-colour of theback is a dirty or creamy white, interspersed with various-shaped blotches of nut-brown or black; the chin, breast, and under-parts are a purer white, and the limbs grey or reddish brown, or, as shown in thephotograph over-leaf, mottled like the body. TheBlack Cuscusof Celebes is, as its name denotes, a much more sombre-looking animal, and is also the largest species, its dimensions equalling or exceeding those of a large cat. The uniformly tintedGrey Cuscusof Timor, Amboina, and other of the Indo-Malay Islands is very similar in size and aspect, excepting for the half-naked tail, to the common ring-tailed phalanger. All the cuscuses are of rare occurrence in even their most favoured habitats. On one occasion the writer came across an example of the grey species in the scrub forest of Thursday Island, Torres Straits. In this instance, however, it is doubtful if the animal was not an escaped pet brought over from the neighbouring coast of New Guinea.
RING-TAILED OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER, AND NEST.By permission of S. Sinclair, Esq.][Sydney.RING-TAILED OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER, AND NEST.This is the only Australian opossum which builds a regular nest.
By permission of S. Sinclair, Esq.][Sydney.RING-TAILED OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER, AND NEST.This is the only Australian opossum which builds a regular nest.
By permission of S. Sinclair, Esq.][Sydney.
RING-TAILED OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER, AND NEST.
This is the only Australian opossum which builds a regular nest.
Much interesting information concerning different varieties of the cuscus is contained in Dr. Alfred Wallace's interesting work "The Malay Archipelago." An anecdote of one which was brought to this naturalist during his residence in the Aru Islands—the headquarters of the great bird of paradise—is thus related: "Just as we had cleared away and packed up for the night, a strange beast was brought, which had been shot by the natives. It resembled in size and in its white woolly covering a small fat lamb, but had short legs, hand-like feet with large claws, and a long prehensile tail. It was a Spotted Cuscus, one of the curious marsupial animals of the Papuan region, and I was very desirous to obtain the skin. The owners, however, said they wanted to eat it; and though I offered them a good price, and promised to give them all the meat, there was great hesitation. Suspecting the reason, I offered, though it was night, to set to work immediately, and get out the body for them, to which they agreed. The creature was much hacked about, and the two hind feet almost cut off, but it was the largest and finestspecimen of the kind I had seen; and after an hour's hard work I handed over the body to the owners, who immediately cut it up and roasted it for supper."
SPOTTED CUSCUS.Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.SPOTTED CUSCUS.The cuscuses are sleepy animals, with soft, woolly fur, which in this species is curiously variegated in colour.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.SPOTTED CUSCUS.The cuscuses are sleepy animals, with soft, woolly fur, which in this species is curiously variegated in colour.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.
SPOTTED CUSCUS.
The cuscuses are sleepy animals, with soft, woolly fur, which in this species is curiously variegated in colour.
The remarkable tenacity of life possessed by the cuscus is fully attested to by Dr. Wallace. He says: "They move about slowly, and are most difficult to kill, owing to the thickness of their skins and tenacity of life. A heavy charge of shot will often lodge in the skin and do them no harm, and even breaking the spine or piercing the brain will not kill them for some hours. The natives everywhere eat their flesh; and as their motions are so slow, easily catch them by climbing; so that it is wonderful that they have not been exterminated. It may be, however, that their dense woolly fur protects them from birds of prey, and the islands they live in are too thinly inhabited for man to be able to exterminate them."
One of the most notable circumstances respecting the cuscus is the fact that it is one of the few marsupials whose geographical distribution extends so far east in the Malay Archipelago as to be found associated with many of the higher mammalia which are altogether unrepresented in Australia or New Guinea. The Moluccas, including notably the islands of Silolo, Ceram, Boru, and many smaller ones, for example, produce no less than three species of cuscus, and are also the home of a species of baboon, a civet-cat, a deer, and that remarkable pig the babirusa. One other marsupial, a little flying-phalanger, is likewise a denizen of these islands. It has been suggested by Dr. Wallace that none of the foregoing higher mammals are possibly indigenous to the Moluccas. The baboon, he remarks, is only found in the island of Batchian, and seems to be much out of place there. It probably originated from some individuals which escaped from confinement, these and similar animals being often kept as pets by the Malay inhabitants and carried about in their praus. The civet-cat, which is more common in the Philippines and throughout the Indo-Malay region, is also carried about in cages from one island to another, and not infrequently liberated after the civet has been abstracted from them. The deer, which is likewise tamed and petted, its flesh also being much esteemed for food, might very naturally have been brought by the Malays from Java with the express object of its acclimatisation. The babirusa, whose headquarters are in the island of Celebes, is only found in Boru, its nearest neighbour in the Moluccan group. Dr. Wallace anticipates that these two islands were in former times more closely connected by land, and that under such conditions the babirusa may have swum across the intervening channel. Should these several hypotheses be correct, the Molucca Islands must be regarded, from a zoological standpoint, as an essentially Australasian or marsupial-producing region.
The Wombats.
The Wombat Family, claiming the next position in the marsupial galaxy, constitutes the very antithesis to the light and graceful arboreal phalangers. There are but three known species, one of these inhabiting Tasmania and the adjacent islands, while the other two are peculiar to the southern region of the Australian Continent. In forms and gait their thick-set tailless bodies suggest a cross between a small bear and a capybara, and as "bears" and "badgers"they are familiarly known by the Australian colonists. The badger simile is perhaps the most pertinently applied with reference to their habit of excavating huge earth-burrows as dwelling-places, and out of which they customarily emerge only at night to feed. TheTasmanian Wombat, at all events, is essentially gregarious in its habits; In the neighbourhood of Swansea, on the east coast, it is, or was, particularly abundant, forming regular warrens among a light undergrowth of vegetation, through which travelling on horseback is a distinctly risky proceeding. The temperament of the wombat is peculiarly placid; and hence, as it might be anticipated, they are essentially long-lived. One, Charlie by name, which has been domiciled at the Zoo for the past thirty years, is still hale and hearty, and evidently disinclined yet awhile to immolate himself on the altar of fame as a much-needed successor to the antique effigy which has for so long represented his species in the British Natural History Museum. Waiting for dead men's shoes is a proverbially tedious task, and for a coveted wombat's skin evidently more so.
The tough hide, with its thick, harsh fur, of the Tasmanian wombat, or "badger," as it is locally dubbed, is somewhat highly prized in the land of its birth. For floor- and door-mats and rugs the pelt is practically indestructible; and as such, though scarcely a thing of beauty, the special pride of the thrifty housewife. This animal is also not infrequently made a household pet, and will waddle as complacently as an over-fed poodle around the premises after its owner. The wombat, like the large majority of the marsupial animals, is for the most part nocturnal in habits, and a strict vegetarian.
The wombats present several interestingly distinct structural peculiarities. In the first place, their teeth, which are twenty-four in number, all grow uninterruptedly throughout life, and are consequently devoid of roots. The incisor teeth are represented by but a single pair in each jaw, and, having enamel only on their front surfaces, wear away in a chisel-like form, as in the beavers and other rodents. Superficially in both form and habits, as well as in the character of their dentition, the wombats may in fact be aptly likened to some unwieldy representative of the Rodent Order. Another structural peculiarity of the wombat is that it is the proud possessor of two more pairs of ribs than any other marsupial.
COMMON WOMBAT.Photo by E. Landor][Ealing.COMMON WOMBAT.A burrowing animal about the size of a small pig.
Photo by E. Landor][Ealing.COMMON WOMBAT.A burrowing animal about the size of a small pig.
Photo by E. Landor][Ealing.
COMMON WOMBAT.
A burrowing animal about the size of a small pig.
Of the three known species, theCommon Wombatof the South and Eastern Australian States is the largest, attaining to a length of as much as 3 feet. The colour of this form is subject to considerable variation, being sometimes yellow, yellow more or less mixed with black, or completely black. Albinism, as in the kangaroos and phalangers, is of apparently rare occurrence. The hair, while coarse, is less so than in the Tasmanian species. What is known as theHairy-nosed Wombat, inhabiting South Australia, is intermediate in size between the common and the Tasmanian varieties;its most distinctive features are the soft and silky character of its brownish hair, and its longer and more pointed ears. The coarseness of the hair of the Tasmanian species has been previously referred to; in colour it is most usually a dark greyish brown, while the ears are small and rounded.
The flesh of the wombat is somewhat esteemed for food, being regarded by some as equal to pork, and much resembling it in flavour. The predilection of tame specimens for milk is very strong, and it has been recorded of one animal that it was not only in the habit of seeking out the milk-pans and pushing off the covers in order to drink the contents, but afterwards of taking a bath in what was left.
HAIRY-NOSED WOMBAT.Photo by E. Landor][Ealing.HAIRY-NOSED WOMBAT.A form peculiar to South Australia.
Photo by E. Landor][Ealing.HAIRY-NOSED WOMBAT.A form peculiar to South Australia.
Photo by E. Landor][Ealing.
HAIRY-NOSED WOMBAT.
A form peculiar to South Australia.
A remarkable habit has been accredited to the wombat which invites scientific investigation. It is said to be capable of sustaining life for an abnormally long period under water, and that when in the course of its travels it meets with a pond or river it does not attempt to swim, but, deliberately entering the water, walks along the bottom, and so emerges on the opposite bank.
The animals of Australia living in not very remote geological times included a near ally of the wombat which equalled a tapir in dimensions.
The Bandicoots.
The AustralianBandicoots—not to be confounded with their namesake of India, which is a big rat—constitute a very distinct little family group. They number in all some eight or nine species, distributed throughout the length and breadth of Australia and Tasmania, and found also in New Guinea. The largest member is about the size of a rabbit; and as its general shape, long ears, and soft silky hair impart some slight resemblance to that rodent, it is commonly known as theRabbit-bandicoot. With the above-enumerated points, however, the likeness ceases—its possession of a moderately long tail, pointed snout, and feet modified on a plan closely resembling those of the kangaroo's indicating its essentially distinct nature. In a second variety, having somewhat the same external contour, but smaller in size, the fore limbs are very short, and the feet so modified that only two toes are visible externally. With reference to this peculiar feature, it is known as thePig-footed Bandicoot. In a third kind of similar dimensions, with harsh brown fur, the ears are comparatively short, and the snout is so abnormally prolonged that, it has been appropriately named theLong-nosed Bandicoot. Superficially, in point of fact, this and other allied species so closely resemble certain of the long-snouted insectivorous mammals, such as the Tenrec and Solenodon, that they might be excusably mistaken by the non-scientific for members of the same group. The bandicoots are chiefly nocturnal, and at all events incorrigible "sun-downers," turning up for their meals when the evening shadows fall, and taking a heavy and unwelcome toll of the farmers' potatoes, beets, or other root, crops. Like the wombat, already described, they are earth-burrowers. Some of them, however, construct nests above-ground in long coarse grass or low tangled shrubs, which are so ingeniously built in accord with their environment as to readily escape detection. Insects and worms, in addition to a main diet of vegetable matter, contribute to the bandicoot's somewhat heterogeneous menu.
COMMON WOMBAT.Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.COMMON WOMBAT.The Wombats may be said to hold the place occupied in other parts of the world by the Badgers.
Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.COMMON WOMBAT.The Wombats may be said to hold the place occupied in other parts of the world by the Badgers.
Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.
COMMON WOMBAT.
The Wombats may be said to hold the place occupied in other parts of the world by the Badgers.
The wood- and root-boring larvæ of a moth which infests the Australian wattle- or acacia-trees are a very favourite food with several of the species, and it is worthy of remark that the bandicoots are not alone in displaying a penchant for this delicacy. Under the title of "bardies" they are collected and highly esteemed for food by the natives of Western Australia, who eat them either cooked or raw. These larvæ are, moreover, acceptable to many European palates, and the writer has witnessed little faggot-like bundles of them brought round by the natives to the hotels at Geraldton, Western Australia, for sale or barter to chance customers. It may be observed in this connection that the analogous wood-boring larvæ of the goat-moth, which were kept and specially fattened for the occasion, constituted one of the dainty dishes of the luxurious Romans.
One of the commonest species found in Tasmania is known as theBandedorStriped-backed Bandicoot, being so named on account of the characteristic markings of its fur. The general ground-colour of the coat is an almost equal admixture of black and yellow hairs, the black tint, however, prevailing on the back, and the lighter one on the sides. The hindquarters are, however, variegated by the presence of some three or four broad transverse stripes that are almost entirely black, while the intervening spaces are a light whitish yellow. A few shorter stripes are sometimes continued as far as the root of the tail, this appendage also having a dark line running along its upper surface. The head is of a somewhat lighter tint than the remainder of the body, while the breast, abdomen, and feet are white, slightly tinged with grey. The transversely striped pattern of ornamentation of the hindquarters of this bandicoot is of interest with relation to the circumstance that a similarly located banded variegation of the fur occurs also in the Tasmanian wolf, or thylacine, and in the banded ant-eater, described in a following section. As a colour-pattern it would appear to be quite peculiar to these marsupials, no such restriction of the markings occurring among the higher or placental mammals. In the South African suricate, a member of the Ichneumon Tribe, in which the nearest approach to this dorsal banding is met with, the stripes are equally developed as far forward as the base of the neck.
LONG-NOSED AUSTRALIAN BANDICOOT.Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.LONG-NOSED AUSTRALIAN BANDICOOT.Bandicoots, although larger, have somewhat the appearance of shrews.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.LONG-NOSED AUSTRALIAN BANDICOOT.Bandicoots, although larger, have somewhat the appearance of shrews.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.
LONG-NOSED AUSTRALIAN BANDICOOT.
Bandicoots, although larger, have somewhat the appearance of shrews.
Both the banded and other species of bandicoots are extremely swift and active in their movements, and are at the same time noted for the singularity of their gait. This consists of a half-running and half-jumping action, induced by the peculiar structure of their feet and greater length of the hind legs, which are modified on a plan intermediate between that of the kangaroos and the dasyures, or native cats. The back of the animal while running being highly arched, adds to the grotesqueness of its appearance. Like the native cats, the pouch in the bandicoots opens backwards; it is furnished with eight teats, but not more than two young are usually produced at a birth.
The striped-backed bandicoot is not infrequently adopted as a household pet, in spite of its notorious garden depredations. When thus domesticated, it appears to be capable of developing a strong attachment for its owner. One that was owned by friends of the writer especially attached itself to the lady of the house. It was acquired when quite young, having escaped from the pouch of an adultfemale which the dogs had killed, and being then about the size of a mouse. It speedily learned to lap milk, and throve on a diet of bread and raw potato. As it grew larger it was allowed the run of the house, and also of the garden, but habitually returned to the sleeping-quarters selected by itself, and represented by the woolly depths of its mistress's work-basket. In this haven of rest it slept all day, scolding and snapping at any intruding hand. Towards dusk it would waken up and bustle about in a most energetic manner, with the air, in fact, of having an immense amount of business to transact within the very shortest limits of time. Its first dart was always towards a corner where a supper of bread-and-milk and potato was usually placed. This meal discussed, its evening's occupation commenced of scampering around the room and over every accessible article of furniture. Nor was it shy of climbing up and resting for a few seconds on the shoulders of its human friends, being always, however, in too great a hurry to prolong the visit. Finally, as with all pets, "Coota," as he was familiarly named, came to an untimely end—not a cat, however, on this occasion, but, if rumour whispers true, through over-indulgence in a too liberally furnished meal of custard pudding.
RABBIT-BANDICOOT.Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.RABBIT-BANDICOOT.The largest of the bandicoots; about the size of a rabbit.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.RABBIT-BANDICOOT.The largest of the bandicoots; about the size of a rabbit.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Milford-on-Sea.
RABBIT-BANDICOOT.
The largest of the bandicoots; about the size of a rabbit.
The flesh of this and other species of bandicoots is esteemed for food both by the natives and the white settlers in Australia. It is noteworthy of the banded variety, more especially, that the skin adheres so tightly to the flesh that its removal is a matter of some considerable difficulty. When full grown, this species measures as much as 18 inches in total length, and is little inferior to a rabbit with regard to the amount of good meat it provides for the larder.
The Pouched Mole.
A still more essentially insectivorous marsupial is represented by the little mammal discovered only a few years since in the wild sandy wastes of Central Australia. In form and habits it so nearly resembles the familiar European mole that the title of thePouched Molehas been very suitably given to it. At the same time, with regard to its remarkable organisation, it constitutes the sole representative of its peculiar family group. The first suspicions of the existence of this singular little animal were raised by the observation of peculiar sinuous three-lined tracks at irregular intervals on the surface of the sandy regions it inhabits.
After a long quest, with the aid of the aborigines, the first specimen was discovered reposing under a tuft of coarse porcupine-grass. A further investigation elicited the fact that its burrowing proclivities were much less pronounced than those of the ordinary moles, the little creature progressing alternately over the surface of the sand, and then ploughing its way, for several feet or yards, two or three inches only beneath the surface. All efforts to preserve examples of this marsupial alive for longer periods than three or four days proved abortive; for though the remains of ants and other insects were found within its viscera, it refused to feed upon the living supplies that were provided for it. In fact, the animal itself apparently ran the greater risk of being eaten.
POUCHED MOLE.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.POUCHED MOLE.This animal is of a pale golden-red colour, and about 5 inches long. It spends most of its time burrowing, which it can do with great rapidity, in the sand of the Australian deserts in search of insects.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.POUCHED MOLE.This animal is of a pale golden-red colour, and about 5 inches long. It spends most of its time burrowing, which it can do with great rapidity, in the sand of the Australian deserts in search of insects.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
POUCHED MOLE.
This animal is of a pale golden-red colour, and about 5 inches long. It spends most of its time burrowing, which it can do with great rapidity, in the sand of the Australian deserts in search of insects.
The colour of the pouched mole is for the most part light fawn, varying in parts to golden yellow. One of its most conspicuous features, as illustrated in the accompanying photographs, is the abnormal size of the third and fourth toes of the fore limbs, their peculiar scoop-like character proving of eminent service to the animal in its customary sand-burrowing habits.
UNDER SURFACE OF POUCHED MOLE.Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S., Milford-on-Sea.UNDER SURFACE OF POUCHED MOLE.Notice the abnormal size of the third and fourth toe of the fore limbs, and their peculiar scoop-like shape.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S., Milford-on-Sea.UNDER SURFACE OF POUCHED MOLE.Notice the abnormal size of the third and fourth toe of the fore limbs, and their peculiar scoop-like shape.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S., Milford-on-Sea.
UNDER SURFACE OF POUCHED MOLE.
Notice the abnormal size of the third and fourth toe of the fore limbs, and their peculiar scoop-like shape.
The Tasmanian Wolf.
The remaining family of the Australian marsupials constitutes a parallel to the carnivorous order of the higher mammalia, all its members being more or less flesh-eaters, and having their dentition modified with relation to such habits. One of these (theTasmanian Wolf, orTigerof the colonists, better known to zoologists as theThylacine) is an animal of considerable size. Its dimensions equal those of a wolf or mastiff, with which the contour of its body and more especially that of the head very nearly correspond. In common with the true dogs, the thylacine hunts its prey by scent. This is well attested to by the following incident, as related by eye-witnesses. While camping out among the hills in Tasmania their attention was attracted very early one morning by a brush-kangaroo hopping past their fire in an evidently highly excited state. Some ten minutes later up cantered a she thylacine with her nose down exactly on the track, evidently following the scent, and in another quarter of an hour her two cubs came by also in the precise track. While not very swift, the Tasmanian "tigers" possess immense staying power, and will keep up a long, steady canter for many hours on end. Accustomed in its primitive state to run down and prey upon the kangaroos, wallabies, and other weaker marsupial mammals indigenous to the regions it inhabits, the Tasmanian wolf speedily acquired a predilection for the imported flocks of the settlers, and proved almost as destructive to them as its Old World namesake. To check its ravages, a price was put upon its head by the Tasmanian Government; and this measure, in conjunction with the rapid advances towards the complete settlement of the country which have been accomplished within later years, has compassed this animal's extermination in all but the wildest andmost inaccessible mountain districts. The colour-markings of this animal are somewhat striking, the grey-brown tints which characterise the ground-hues of the body and limbs being varied by a series of dark bands traversing the buttocks, these being widest in this region, and continued forwards to the middle of the back. A somewhat similar cross-stripe pattern of ornamentation occurs in the relatively small member of the same family described later on as theBanded Ant-eater.
TASMANIAN WOLF.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., North Finchley.TASMANIAN WOLF.This photograph shows the great width of gape of this ferocious animal.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., North Finchley.TASMANIAN WOLF.This photograph shows the great width of gape of this ferocious animal.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., North Finchley.
TASMANIAN WOLF.
This photograph shows the great width of gape of this ferocious animal.
Examples of the Tasmanian wolf have frequently been on view at the Regent's Park Gardens, a very fine young male specimen being at present located in the marsupial section. Within a few weeks of its arrival it was on excellent terms with its keeper, though, owing to its somewhat imperfect sense of vision during the daytime, it was apt to snap somewhat promiscuously at those attempting to cultivate its close acquaintanceship. That a bite from its formidable teeth is not to be lightly risked will be made abundantly apparent by a glance at the successful yawning pose photograph secured of this example by Mr. Medland, and here reproduced. Although the thylacine is at the present time entirely limited in its distribution to Tasmania, it occurs in the fossil state on the Australian mainland; while, singularly to relate, the remains of a closely allied form have within recent years been unearthed in Patagonia. This circumstance, taken in conjunction with the fact that many other fossil types with Australian and New Zealand affinities have been discovered in the same South American strata, has strengthened the supposition maintained by many zoologists that in bygone ages a vast Antarctic continent, spreading through the areas now occupied by the Southern Indian and Pacific Oceans, temporarily united the now distinct lands of South America and Australasia.
TASMANIAN WOLF.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.TASMANIAN WOLF.In this photograph are shown nearly all the chief characteristic points of the Tasmanian wolf.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.TASMANIAN WOLF.In this photograph are shown nearly all the chief characteristic points of the Tasmanian wolf.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
TASMANIAN WOLF.
In this photograph are shown nearly all the chief characteristic points of the Tasmanian wolf.
The Tasmanian Devil.
Next in size to the thylacine, but possessing a more unenviable notoriety for the uncompromising sulkiness and savagery of its disposition, is the animal which, in virtue of the aforesaid qualities, is known by the title of theTasmanian Devil. In shape and dimensions this marsupial carnivore somewhat resembles a badger; but the head is abnormally large, the masseter muscles which control the action of the powerful jaws monopolising a very considerable share of the face area. The limbs are short and also very powerful, the front paws being well adapted to its burrowing habits. There is some slight variation in the colours of this marsupial Apollyon; and, as theaphorism runs concerning his sable namesake, he is not always so black as he is painted. More or less or in fact mostly black he always is, but there is usually a redeeming thread or patch of white upon his coat. This may take the form of a small star-like spot only on the front of its chest, which not infrequently extends to a narrow crescent-shaped band or line continued round the neck almost to the shoulders. One or more supplementary spots of white may also be developed upon the flanks and hindquarters.
TASMANIAN DEVIL.Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.TASMANIAN DEVIL.A small, but stout and powerful animal, very destructive, and absolutely untamable.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.TASMANIAN DEVIL.A small, but stout and powerful animal, very destructive, and absolutely untamable.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.
TASMANIAN DEVIL.
A small, but stout and powerful animal, very destructive, and absolutely untamable.
The destructive propensities of the Tasmanian devil, wherein the farmers' sheep and poultry are concerned, are in no way inferior to those of the Tasmanian wolf, and in consequence of their former much greater abundance the havoc these animals committed was the more serious. Placed, like the last-named type, under Government ban, these native devils have, in comparison with the earlier days of colonisation, very considerably ceased from troubling, and with the ever-progressing march of settlement and civilisation will probably be altogether exterminated at a no very distant date. A bag of no less than 150 of these marauders, in the course of one winter, was recorded from an upland sheep-station some twenty or thirty years ago. In common with the thylacine, it has been observed that the Tasmanian devil has a marked predilection for prowling along the seashore in search apparently of crabs, fish, or any acceptable flotsam and jetsam that may be cast up by the waves.
Examples of this most unamiable of mammals were brought in alive on several occasions to the Hobart Museum during the writer's residence in Tasmania, but in all cases obstinately resisted every attempt towards the establishment of a friendly footing. Their ultimate relegation to the specimen-cases was, under the circumstances, unattended by any very poignant manifestations of regret. A fact brought into prominent notice during subsequent post-mortem investigations was the extraordinary extent to which these animals are infested with vermin. Possibly this circumstance is to a considerable extent accountable for the creature's unconquerable irritability. The experiment as to whether a course of disinfecting treatment, by baths or otherwise, would not conduce towards the taming of this native devil, where all other applied methods have failed, would at all events be worth the trial. The bath pure and simple is a wonderful soporific for unruly tempers. As most schoolboys know, a pail of water, from which the patient is withdrawn when a watery grave is apparently inevitable, is an unfailing specific for the taming of mice and other "small deer." The writer's experience with a villainously savage cat which one night fell incontinently into an uncovered cistern, and was rescued by him at almost the last gasp, will not be readily forgotten. That cat, though still a vixen to the ordinary members of the household, forthwith attached itself affectionately to its rescuer, and would sit for hours awaiting his arrival on the doorstep when the business of the day was over. Other fierce creatures, including the Tasmanian devil, would possibly prove amenable to the judicious application of the "water cure."