THE HUMAN SIDE OF APES 



want others to do, their extraction of thorns and splinters 

 from their own and others' bodies, their modes of exhibiting 

 affection, their natural hostility to strangers, and their grad- 

 ual adoption of strangers into their group as they become 

 better acquainted. For fuller information on these topics 

 the reader may consult the works of K5hler and Yerkes, 

 from which I have quoted. 



I cannot, however, leave this topic without a few words 

 on the family life of the apes and the care of parents for 

 their offspring. Information on these topics is very meagre, 

 because it is only very rarely that the larger apes have been 

 bred in captivity. It has recently been established that the 

 menstrual periods in female chimpanzees occur about every 

 thirty days, and that the period of gestation is nine months — 

 a fact ascertained from the birth of a young chimpanzee in 

 the Abreu collection at Quinta Palatino, Cuba. 



This baby chimpanzee was observed, soon after birth, in 

 the lap of its mother, by whom it was cleaned and dried.. 

 It was quite devoid of hair except on the head. Lactation 

 began on the second day, and the baby was nursed for several 

 months. Incisor teeth appeared when the baby was two 

 months old, and some of the molars developed during the 

 next month. The mother was very solicitous for the welfare 

 of her offspring. The father, who was somewhat morose, 

 would often frighten the baby during his fits of temper, but 

 was never known to molest it. Other male chimpanzees 

 have been described as treating their young with gentleness 

 and as playing with them. 



The offspring of apes, as of most mammals, man included, 

 receive more care and attention from the mother than from 

 the father. Among the higher apes an adult male is often 

 seen with one or a few adult females and a small group of 

 younger individuals. The young cling tightly to the hair 



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