BROOD-CARE AMONG MAMMALS 165 



The preparation for the birth of the young is seldom a serious 

 matter amongst mammals. Those which have not natural homes, 

 and a good many of the others, do not seem to be aware of the 

 approaching event almost until the actual birth begins, and merely 

 follow the natural instinct of animals that do not feel quite well. 

 They retire from their companions and seek a sheltered place. 

 Nothing is known as to birth in the case of the man-like apes in the 

 wild state, and I do not know of any instance where they have bred 

 in captivity. Baboons, cercopitheques, langurs, macaques and many 

 of the small American monkeys have bred in captivity. The 

 female which is about to be a mother generally shows an enlarge- 

 ment of the breasts and a slight restlessness for a day or two before 

 the actual birth ; sometimes she ceases to take food and retires into 

 her shelter or sleeping-box, to appear again with her infant. The 

 capped langur monkey which is shown with her baby in two 

 positions on the plate (IX) seemed to have been as much taken by 

 surprise as her keeper in the London Zoological Gardens. The birth 

 took place at night, and the mother, from the marks in the cage, 

 must have dragged about the astonishing object she found until the 

 placenta got broken off. By morning, however, she had grown accus- 

 tomed to the baby and carried it pressed against her breast, from 

 time to time thrusting the head outwards and eagerly looking at it. 

 The baby clung tightly to the mother with both its arms round her, 

 and its long tail hanging down. When the mother leapt about her 

 cage, or went to the outdoor compartment, the baby itself clung 

 to her. It was only when the mother was at rest that she supported 

 it with her arms. For several weeks the baby never left her 

 and she showed endless curiosity and pleasure in it, ceaselessly 

 examining it, turning it over, stroking it and keeping it clean with 

 her hands. She was jealous of visitors, and, when they approached, 

 she used to turn round so as to hide the baby from them. The 

 father, in case of accident, had been taken away and put in the 

 adjoining cage, which was shut off by a piece of canvas. He made a 

 hole in this, and from time to time, especially when the mother or 

 baby made any noise, he would raise the torn flap and peep through. 

 In about a month the baby sometimes left the mother, but rushed 

 back to her at the slightest sign of danger. Apart from feeding it 

 at the breast, this mother, like all other monkeys I have ever seen, 

 made no attempt to give its young food or to share food with it. A 

 Japanese ape born in the London Zoological Gardens grew up with its 

 father and mother. When it was quite young the mother and young 



