184 Lloyd's natural history. 



and dark brown at the tip; on the sides of the face the hair 

 is dark brown or black, grey at the root; on the neck and 

 shoulders the hair is grey at the root, and lighter towards the 

 point. The back, the region of the humerus, and the thighs 

 are brownish, the hair being pale grey at the root, blackish- 

 brown further up, and dark grey at the termination; the fore- 

 arms, the hands, ankles, and feet, dark brown or black; round 

 the posterior is a circle of white hair in some, in others 

 of brownish-yellow. Old individuals become grey or grizzled. 



Distribution. — Western Equatorial Africa, between the 

 Cameroons and the Congo. This region presents a variety 

 of hill and dale; the uplands are clothed with forest, and 

 the dales are covered with grass and low bush, with abund- 

 ance of fruit-yielding trees. 



Habits. — This extraordinary animal, round which have 

 gathered so many myths, derived mostly from the inexact 

 and magnified tales of the natives, still frvther exaggerated by 

 careless or imaginative visitors to the West Coast of Africa, 

 was first brought to the knowledge of science by Dr. Thomas 

 Savage, an American Medical Missionary, in 1847. From that 

 time downwards numerous preserved specimens of the animal 

 have been received in excellent condition, so that its anatomy 

 is very fully known. In i860 the first living individual reached 

 Europe, and lived for some months in Wombwell's Menagerie. 

 Since that date both English and continental menageries have 

 had specimens in captivity. What we know of the habits of the 

 Gorilla is greatly based on observations made on these captive 

 animals. Abundant statements to the contrary notwithstanding, 

 very few persons, competent to give an intelligent account ot 

 their habits, have ever seen the Gorilla alive in its native state. 



