THE APES AND MONKEYS. 



not deterred from fights whose outcome is more than 

 doubtful from the beginning. Even the graceful 

 Guenons fight, when driven to it. The large sized 

 Man-shaped Apes and the Baboons are endowed 

 with fearful weapons in their teeth, and no native 

 will dream of attacking them without fire-arms. 

 Against the Gorilla even fire-arms avail but little in 

 a great many cases. At any rate the fury of the 

 Apes, which redoubles their strength, and their agil- 

 ity that frequently prevents their opponents from 

 striking them a decisive blow, are greatly to be 

 feared. They fight with their hands and teeth, 

 striking, scratching and biting. A great many sto- 

 ries about their other modes of defense have been 

 disproved by careful observation. " It is said," re- 

 marks Pechuel-Loesche, " that the Apes defend 

 themselves with broken branches ; and it is gener- 

 ally conceded that they throw stones, fruit and 

 Eieces of wood at their enemies, but this belief is 

 ased on inaccurate observations. The people who 

 spread it probably saw only what they were pre- 

 pared to see, not what really happened. Apes often 

 break a dry branch in play, jumping on it, but they 

 do not throw it at people standing below ; neither 

 do they throw fruit or other things they may hap- 

 pen to be holding, though they might drop it in 

 their confusion when frightened. Neither do Bab- 

 oons ever throw stones at their pursuers. Pieces 

 of rock may crumble and fall down from the place 

 where they sit, but that is all ; the active animals 

 are forever rolling stones from their places, look- 

 ing for insects under them." 



Conduct In captivity nearly all Apes live in har- 

 in mony together ; still a certain relation of 



Captivity, dependence soon forms itself, just as in a 

 troop in the wild state. The strongest Ape maintains 

 his authority and torments the weaker ones until 

 they recognize it. To be tenderly considerate of the 

 feelings of others is not an Ape's character, though 

 it is true that the stronger kinds, male as well as 

 female, always protect the weaker ones ; and strong 

 females often go as far as to show a liking towards 

 human babies or small, young animals, that they can 

 carry in their arms. Badly as Apes treat other 

 animals, they show kindness to their young and to 

 children, naturally preferring their own to any 

 others ; this fondness has become proverbial. 



Mother Ape The female Ape usually has one young 

 and one at a birth ; a few kinds have two.. 

 Child. The baby Ape is always an ugly little 

 being, with arms and legs looking twice as long 

 proportionately as its parents', and with a face so 

 wrinkled and furrowed that it looks like that of an 

 old man rather than of a child. This little monster 

 is the mother's pet in a still higher degree than is 

 the case with a human mother ; she fondles it and 

 takes care of it in a manner not only touching but 

 bordering on the ridiculous. Soon after its birth the 

 young Ape attaches itself to its mother, putting both 

 arms around her neck and both legs around her hips, 

 so as not to interfere with her in running. When it 

 gets a little older, it sometimes jumps on the mother's 

 back in times of danger. In the beginning the little 

 Ape is naturally devoid of all sentiment, not appre- 

 ciating the tenderness the mother bestows on it. 

 She is forever playing with it ; she licks its body, 

 she hugs it, she holds it in both hands as if she 

 were admiring it, and rocks it to sleep in her arms. 



Pliny asserts that Apes sometimes hug their little 

 ones so close as to strangle them, but his statement 



has not been verified by modern observers. In a 



short time the young Ape begins to be independent 

 and longs for a little freedom, which is granted it. 

 The mother lets it play and romp with other little 

 ones, but she does not take her eyes off from it, 

 following its every step and permitting only as much 

 freedom as she deems proper. At the least danger 

 she utters her sound of warning, inviting the little 

 one to take refuge at her breast. If it is disobedient 

 she slaps it, sometimes giving it a box on the ears. 

 But she seldom has to resort to this, for an Ape- 

 child is very obedient and might serve as a model 

 for many a human child. In captivity I have often 

 seen Apes divide everything with their offspring ; 

 and the death of a young one is frequently followed 

 by the death of its mother, she dying of a broken 

 heart. When a mother dies, leaving a child, the 

 orphan is regularly adopted by some member of the 

 troop, either male or female. The solicitude be- 

 stowed upon an adopted child is nearly as great as 

 that of a mother Ape for her own offspring ; al- 

 though, when an Ape takes care of other animals, 

 as it sometimes does, it is quite different. It will look 

 after the adopted animal, cleaning and caring for it, 

 but usually giving it nothing to eat ; on the contrary, 

 the food destined for the orphan is, without a scru- 

 ple, devoured by its nurse, who meanwhile holds the 

 hungry little beast at arm's length. 



Maturity, ft is not known how many years an 

 Health and Ape requires for its growth. The Gue- 

 Longevity. nons and the American Monkeys prob- 

 ably need no more than three or four years, while 

 the Baboons might need from eight to twelve. In 

 the wild state Monkeys seem to be subject to few 

 diseases. At least we do not know anything about 

 epidemics that are said to have occurred among 

 them. It is also uncertain how long they live, but 

 we may accept forty years as about the average life 

 of the larger species, such as the Gorilla and Chim- 

 panzee. In the United States as well as Europe those 

 in captivity suffer from the severity of the climate. 

 Cold depresses them physically and mentally, and, 

 as a rule, they soon die of consumption. A sick Ape 

 is a spectacle that would move a heart of stone. 

 The poor fellow, but recently so full of fun, sits 

 miserable and sad, with a plaintive, really human 

 look. The nearer he approaches death, the gentler 

 he gets ; the animal side of his nature is lost, and the 

 spiritual side shines brighter. He is grateful for 

 every little help, soon looks on the physician as his 

 benefactor, willingly takes medicines, and even sub- 

 mits to surgical operations without resistance. Apes 

 that otherwise seem quite healthy, often get a disease 

 of the tail, the end of which ulcerates and becomes 

 gangrenous and the tail is lost by degrees. 

 Monkeys as I do not know whether I may advise 

 Domestic people to keep Monkeys as pets. The 

 Pets. merry animals give much pleasure, but 

 also a great deal of annoyance. One must always 

 be prepared for all kinds of pranks, but if he does 

 not wish to study the intellectual resources of the 

 animals he will soon grow very tired of them. The 

 larger kinds sometimes become dangerous, for they 

 bite and scratch furiously. It is not wise to give 

 a Monkey fhe freedom of the whole house, for his 

 active spirit requires constant occupation, and when 

 he is not provided with it he finds employment for 

 himself, which, as a rule, does not turn out to be 

 very profitable to his master. Some kinds are not 

 to be tolerated on account of their indecent behavior. 

 The life of the tame Apes, which comprised several 

 Gorillas, Chimpanzees, Guenons and others, at the 



