-»5 Apes and Monkeys 



impetuous way of tearing the leaves from the branches 

 and putting them in their mouths. Frequent eructa- 

 tions interrupt their meal, which they make only in 

 the morning and in the evening. Captive specimens 

 never try to bite any one until they have gripped 

 him with their hands and drawn him close to their 

 mouth. 



These melancholy animals, so wonderfully adapted to 

 their haunts, live high up in the gigantic forest trees, 

 sometimes in large, sometimes in small groups, jumping 

 from bough to bough and tree-top to tree-top. 'Jdieir 

 bushy white tails hang low, and, as they jump, the hair 

 of their bodies spreads out, giving them quite a unique 

 appearance, like lichen suddenly come to life. 



The mbega hardly ever comes down to the ground. 

 It finds enough water to drink in the cavities of the old 

 trees, and, on account of its long legs, it can only move 

 forward on the ground with great difficulty, looking very 

 helpless. On occasions I found the mbega very inquisi- 

 tive, and not particularly timid. Unfortunately, like so 

 many other animals, these monkeys have much to fear from 

 the progress of civilisation, for their fur is greatly coveted. 

 Already their numbers have been much thinned by fire- 

 arms and by the poisoned arrows of the natives. This 

 is the more to be lamented as, unlike baboons and meer- 

 kats, the mbega is not hurtful. 



The guereza has something in common with those 

 savage races that melt away as civilisation advances, and 

 which prefer to go under rather than make any concessions. 

 A free and independent dweller of the forests, finding 



VOL. II. 541 12 



