358 



ZOOLOGY 



22. HEAO OF C'HIMl'ANZKK KHOM TOKO 



(xardens (wliieh again joined on to a large extent of wild woodland and 

 jungle), he would in all probability have completely regained his lil)erty ; 

 but some half-human instinct prompted him to ])ause for a while on the 

 branches above us and scream defiant taunts. The idea of losing this 

 (at that time unique) specimen was too much for me. Mr. Doggett had 

 in his hand a loaded rifle. I called to him to fire at the gibbering chim- 

 panzee. He did so, and the poor creature, uttering a dreadful human 

 scream in the middle of its triumph, threw up its hands and fell heavily 

 to the ground, where it gasped out its life with such sighs and groans as to 

 make me feel a murderer. 



The other living specimen sent to us was not quite so old or so strong, 

 and soon became tame. It died, alas ! as it was on its way home to the 

 Zoological Gardens, having caught a severe attack of pneumonia in passing 

 from the tropical climate of Uganda to the European bleakness of the 

 Nandi Plateau. This chimpanzee, when angry, did not attempt to bite 

 purely and simply ; its great idea was to strike with the open hand, though 

 there were occasionally gestures like those of the baboon, which might lead 

 one to believe that the chimpanzee at times drags its opponent to his 

 mouth with its hands and pushes him away as it bites, thus tearing out 

 the flesh with great force. These angry gestures were not so often made 

 towards human beings (with whom it reconciled itself rapidly), but were 

 used to punish two impudent baboons in my collection, who, whenever they 



