70 APES, MONKEYS, AND LEMURS 



found in smaller or larger communities, composed of individuals of both sexes and 

 of all ages, the youngest clinging to their mothers, and being carried by them, 

 especially when alarmed. An old male is occasionally found solitary, as with so 

 many other Mammals. The story that males and females live in separate troops, 

 though apparently believed by Blyth and quoted by Jerdon, I agree with Hutton in 

 regarding as fictitious, though as the latter obs rver justly remarks, females with 

 very young offspring may keep together, and temporarily apart from the remainder 

 of the troop to which they belong." 



In regard to the cry of these langurs, Mr. Blanford observes that, "Their voice 

 is loud, and is often heard, especially, in the morning and evening. The two com- 

 monest sounds emitted by them are a loud, joyous, rather musical call, a kind of 

 whoop, generally uttered when they are bounding from tree to tree, and a harsh 

 guttural note, denoting alarm or anger. The latter is the cry familiar to the tiger 

 hunter, amongst whose best friends is the hanuman. Safely ensconced in a lofty 

 tree, or jumping from one tree to another, as the tiger moves, the monkey by ges- 

 ture and cry points out the position of his deadly enemy in the bushes or grass be- 

 neath, and swears at him heartily. It is marvelous to observe how these monkeys, 

 even in the wildest forests where human beings are rarely seen, appear to recognize 

 men as friends, or at least as allies against the tiger. It is a common but erroneous 

 notion of sportsmen that this guttural cry is a sure indication of a tiger or leopard 

 having been seen, whereas the monkeys quite as often utter it merely as an expres- 

 sion of surprise ; I have heard it caused by the sight of deer running away, and I 

 believe that it is frequently due to the monkeys catching sight of men. ' ' 



The food of the hanuman consists largely of leaves and young shoots and also 

 grain of all kinds, especially in the towns. In disposition the hanuman is gentle, 

 and appears never to attack human beings. Its constitution is delicate when in cap- 

 tivity, probably from the want of suitable food, but the species is generally well 

 represented in the London Zoological Society's Gardens. 



That troops of langurs sometimes engage in fierce contests is proved 

 by an interesting account given by Mr. T. H. Hughes, from which the 

 following extract is taken. Mr. Hughes says that, " In April 1882, when encamped 

 at the village of Singpur in the Sohagpur district of the Rewa State, my attention 

 was attracted to a restless gathering of hanumans in the grove adjoining the one in 

 which my tent was pitched ; and, wishing to form some idea asto its cause, I strolled 

 to where the excitement was greatest, and found two opposing troops engaged in 

 demonstrations of an unfriendly character. Two males of one troop, fair-sized 

 brutes, and one of another, a splendid-looking fellow of stalwart proportions, were 

 walking round and displaying their teeth. The solitary gladiator headed a much 

 smaller following than that captained by the other two, and, strange to say, instead 

 of the whole number of monkeys joining in a general mle, the fortune of the ques- 

 tion that had to be decided appeared to -have been entrusted to the representative 

 champions. It was some .time, at least a quarter of an hour, before actual hostilities 

 took place, when, having got within striking distance, the two monkeys made a rush 

 at their adversary. I 'saw their arms and teeth going viciously, and then the throat 

 of one of the aggressors was ripped right open, and he lay dying. He had done 



