NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



needs, and probably has some notion it will get more 

 by sucking the two teats at the same time. The 

 mother hugs and nurses the infant in her arms 

 exactly after the manner of a human mother. When 

 climbing a tree she holds it tight to her breast by 

 casting an arm around it ; meanwhile its arms and 

 legs grip her body tight, and each little fist grasps 

 a handful of her fur or skin. 



I had one of these apes which gave birth to twins 



in December 1908. She succeeded in rearing them 



both. It was most interesting to watch the little 



mites playing and romping with one another, while 



the mother looked on approvingly. For the first 



two months she never permitted them to leave her 



for a moment ; but as they began to develop they 



grew playful, and were wishful of exercising their 



limbs. She could never bear the sight of a dog, and 



the instant one appeared she would snatch up her 



children and hug them to her breast, at the same time 



giving vent to loud threatening cries. From month 



to month the twins became less dependent upon the 



mother, and their confidence slowly increased, until 



eventually they led an existence independent of her ; 



although, until almost adult, they would rush to her 



for protection if anything occurred to frighten them. 



The Vervet Monkey has a natural antipathy to 



dogs, and the appearance of one of the latter excites 



them profoundly. I had two mother monkeys, each 



of whom had a baby about a month old. One day 



a friend came to see them, and his terrier dog ran 



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