THE HUMAN SIDE OF APES 



mother's attention was averted, an attendant quickly jerked 

 the body out of the cage. The monkey, Madam Abreu 

 states, "cried and cried, and I did my best to console her." 



Young apes as a rule take very kindly to human beings. 

 Mr. Sheak states that he had "seen a young chimpanzee, 

 taken from the shipping box in which he came to America, 

 throw his arms about the neck of a man he had never seen 

 before and hug him affectionately. I had once a little fellow 

 who would snuggle up to me, then take my arm and put it 

 about him." Throwing the arms about the neck or shoulders 

 of another individual seems to be a natural and possibly 

 instinctive mode of greeting among chimpanzees. Mr. Sheak, 

 in describing the behavior of a tired chimpanzee when she 

 observed her master getting out her sleeping box, states 

 that "she gave forth two or three long-drawn-out notes, 

 followed by sharp, quick, truncated barks of delight, rushed 

 to her master and hugged him frantically, turned to me and 

 hugged me till she almost choked me, then hurried over 

 to a negro at the end of the stage and hugged him too." 

 One seldom observes such exuberance of gratitude even in 

 human beings. 



Youth is the period in which apes are most companionable 

 and attractive. As they get older and life grows more seri- 

 ous, their disposition is likely to become none too angelic. 

 And the strength of these animals renders it unsafe to take 

 chances with the uncertainty of their temper. There are, 

 however, as many varieties of temperament among them as 

 there are among people, and many adult apes remain safe 

 and devoted companions even when they grow old. Chim- 

 panzees especially are very emotional animals, and they 

 habitually give free rein to their impulses, whether of affec- 

 tion or of pugnacity. Like children, they have not mastered 

 the arts of inhibition and dissimulation, and they are there- 



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