THE PLAY OF ANIMALS. 97 



confirmed by the report of the Loango Expedition. 

 Falkenstein tells there of a young gorilla: "A peculiar, 

 almost childish, pleasure was awakened in him by strik- 

 ing on hollow, sounding bodies. He seldom missed 

 the opportunity, in passing casks, dishes, or griddles, 

 of drumming on them. On our homeward voyage he 

 indulged freely in this pastime, being allowed to move 

 about on the steamer." * 



The same gorilla, too, frequently beat on his own 

 breast with both fists, " apparently from overflowing con- 

 tentment and sheer pleasure," a habit which in the adult 

 usually indicates strong emotion, especially anger. 



Voice practice is very common. I have already 

 spoken of a puppy's attempts to bark, and I am inclined 

 to think that even the howling of a young dog may be a 

 kind of play; and I believe the same is true of young 

 lions, that from time to time rise up and give forth 

 frightful roars that commonly excite the others. The 

 purring of cats, too, is like play. Then there are the 

 deafening cries of the howling ape, considered by many 

 as only an amusement. The wonder is that the animals 

 have attained such a structure of the larynx as to be able 

 to produce them. One kind of ape produces a flutelike 

 note resembling the whistle of a bird, for which the lips 

 are contracted. " Usually it is when he is unemployed, 

 and seems to express his ennui by means of the sound." f 



In many cases the vocal exercise consists in learning 

 by heart a simple or complicated decoy cry that is 

 usually connected with courtship, to which I will de- 

 vote the next chapter. A single other example of voice 

 practice will suffice, as it is a very valuable one. Hud- 



* Loango Expedition, ii, p. 154. 



f Rengger, Die Saugethiere von Paraguay, p. 45. 



