210 CHILDHOOD OF ANIMALS 



Gardens, the chimpanzees as they grow up seem to me to become 

 less tame, but that may be partly because the keepers have to cease 

 being so familiar with them when they grow stronger, and when 

 considerable force would have to be used if they fell into a fit of 

 temper. The oldest chimpanzee in the London collection is cer- 

 tainly fully adult, as he is at least fifteen years old, and has remained 

 reasonably docile with his keeper, but is not quite safe with 

 others. For the same reason baboons and monkeys and lemurs 

 are not handled so freely as they grow up, but it certainly is my 

 opinion that apart from this, their tameness wears off. 



All young monkeys are climbing animals, accustomed first to 

 cling to their parents and then to run along branches with the help 

 of their hands and feet. They dislike being caught hold of, and, 

 until they are really familiar with you, they will be frightened or 

 try to bite if you make any attempt to seize them. If, however, 

 they are allowed, they will climb on to you, running up your arm 

 and sitting on your shoulder, or clinging round your neck. This 

 applies not only to quite young monkeys but to many that are 

 full grown ; they will struggle and bite if you try to grasp them, 

 but they will readily allow themselves to be carried. When they 

 have become familiar, and are given an arm by which to hold 

 on, they will allow themselves to be groomed, to have their fur 

 combed and brushed, and their faces, feet and hands and the 

 naked parts of their body washed. One of the difficulties in keeping 

 monkeys is that it is almost impossible to train them to cleanly 

 habits. Like most arboreal animals, they have no special place 

 to keep clean and no natural disposition to avoid fouling their 

 blanket or the floor on which they are. I have seen a chimpanzee 

 that was trained to use a lavatory, but it plainly acted as if it were 

 one of the tricks that it had been taught to perform and did not 

 associate it with the object in view. It would go through the 

 operations when it had no need, and immediately afterwards would 

 foul the floor or its clothes. With regard to cleanliness, the most 

 careful training can only develop the natural instincts of animals. 



I do not know any exception to the rule that carnivores, which 

 are naturally accustomed to maternal care, are easily tamed and 

 when young make gentle and affectionate pets. Baby tigers; lions, 

 leopards, cheetahs, caracals, lynxes, all the bears, hyenas, dogs, 

 wolves, foxes, and all the smaller creatures in the group attach 

 themselves extremely readily to man. As they are usually carried 

 in the mouth by the mother, unlike monkeys, they expect to be 



