i8 95 . MAMMALS OF THE MALAY PENINSULA. 25 



is set upon by the males. If he manages to hold his own pretty 

 well he is admitted into the family, bat he is sometimes killed. In 

 fighting, they attempt to bite the top of the head and the ribs. If 

 a monkey on the ground is attacked by a dog, all the rest of the 

 troop comes to its rescue, and usually a severe fight is the result. 

 My fox-terriers are very keen on attacking the monkeys which live 

 wild in and round the Botanic Gardens, and desperate fights often 

 take place, in which monkeys sometimes get killed. On one occasion 

 a battle had taken place in the Garden jungle, resulting in the 

 serious injury of one of the combatant Kras. The others having 

 retired, the dogs went away, and shortly after a Tamil coolie, 

 who was weeding a path nearly a hundred yards from the jungle, 

 saw three big monkeys coming across the open grass plot towards 

 him bringing with them the injured one. They ran, as usual, on all 

 fours, two holding the wounded one by its arms in their mouths, the 

 other pushing it behind. The man was frightened at the monkeys, 

 and ran away for help, whereat the monkeys laid the wounded one 

 on the grass and retired to the jungle. The monkey was taken care 

 of, but soon died. There could be little doubt that the animals 

 really intended to bring the wounded one for help to the man, as 

 there was no reason for their carrying it from the safe shelter of the 

 jungle across the open lawn, where there could be no escape if the 

 dogs did return. Nor did they do anything with it, but put it down where 

 they last saw the man, as if to ask his aid. On a former occasion 

 one of the men had rescued a wounded monkey during a fight and 

 carried it off, but it also was too injured to live. The other monkeys 

 saw this, and probably looked on man as a defender from their enemies 

 the dogs, but it is difficult to see how they managed to concert the 

 action. 



Mr. H. Lake told me that on one occasion when travelling in 

 Johore he came upon a brisk fight between a large number of Kras 

 and about half a dozen Lotongs (Semnopithecus) for the possession of a 

 Rambutan tree (Nephelium lappaceum) in fruit. For some time before 

 he came in sight of the tree the cries of the combatants could be 

 heard, and for two hours the battle raged, and was raging when he 

 went out of hearing. The Lotongs were in the tree defending it from 

 the rushes of the Kras, which they repulsed by biting them and 

 throwing them out of the tree and into the river, sometimes falling 

 with their assailants to the ground, and again climbing up to carry on 

 the defence. Now and then the attacking party would draw off to 

 rest, and arrange simultaneous attacks from different sides. But the 

 Kras had not got a footing in the tree when the observer left. 



There is a form of the Kra which frequents the mangrove 

 swamps, feeding on the fruits of these trees, and on crabs and shell- 

 fish, and which may often be seen running about on the mud at low 

 tide in search of food. They are usually more grey in colour, but do 

 not appear to be distinct specifically. The mangrove monkeys are 



