NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



needs, and probably has some notion it will get more 

 by sucking the two teats at the same time. The 

 mother hugs and nurses the infant in her arms 

 exactly after the manner of a human mother. When 

 climbing a tree she holds it tight to her breast by 

 casting an arm around it ; meanwhile its arms and 

 legs grip her body tight, and each little fist grasps 

 a handful of her fur or skin. 



I had one of these apes which gave birth to twins 

 in December 1908. She succeeded in rearing them 

 both. It was most interesting to watch the little 

 mites playing and romping with one another, while 

 the mother looked on approvingly. For the first 

 two months she never permitted them to leave her 

 for a moment ; but as they began to develop they 

 grew playful, and were wishful of exercising their 

 limbs. She could never bear the sight of a dog, and 

 the instant one appeared she would snatch up her 

 children and hug them to her breast, at the same time 

 giving vent to loud threatening cries. From month 

 to month the twins became less dependent upon the 

 mother, and their confidence slowly increased, until 

 eventually they led an existence independent of her ; 

 although, until almost adult, they would rush to her 

 for protection if anything occurred to frighten them. 



The Vervet Monkey has a natural antipathy to 

 dogs, and the appearance of one of the latter excites 

 them profoundly. I had two mother monkeys, each 

 of whom had a baby about a month old. One day 

 a friend came to see them, and his terrier dog ran 

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