Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cas, since they are either of peculiar species, or if found elsewhere are natives only of New
Guinea or North Australia. The first is the small flying opossum, Belideus ariel, a beautiful
little animal, exactly like a small flying squirrel in appearance, but belonging to the mar-
supial order. The other three are species of the curious genus Cuscus, which is peculiar to
the Austro-Malayan region. These are opossum-like animals, with a long prehensile tail, of
which the terminal half is generally bare. They have small heads, large eyes, and a dense
covering of woolly fur, which is often pure white with irregular black spots or blotches, or
sometimes ashy brown with or without white spots. They live in trees, feeding upon the
leaves, of which they devour large quantities. They move about slowly, and are difficult to
kill, owing to the thickness of their fur, and their 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 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. The figure represents Cuscus ornatus, a new species discovered by me in Batchian,
and which also inhabits Ternate. It is peculiar to the Moluccas, while the two other species
which inhabit Ceram are found also in New Guinea and Waigiou.
