60 



THE APES AND MONKEYS. 



The Lively The best known member of this 

 Squirrel Monkey group is the Squirrel- Monkey, 



of Guiana. sometimes called the Golden-haired 

 Monkey {Chrysethrix sciurea), distinguished as much 

 by a graceful body and agreeable color as by a 

 merry, cheerful disposition. He may be counted 

 one of the best looking of all the American Monk- 

 eys. The tail is very long ; the body yellow above 

 and whitish below. Sometimes the creature is gray 

 with golden yellow limbs, or the head may be coal 

 black. The length, tail included, averages about 

 thirty-two inches. 



This attractive little creature is a native of Gui- 

 ana, and prefers the banks of rivers, which he haunts 

 in large numbers. He does not inhabit high trees, 

 but is found in the shrubs on the edges of the forest 



Ov 



WHITE-HEADED SAKI MONKEY. A peculiarity of the"Saki" is that it strongly resembles Man in 



the face, as the artist has clearly shown. Its white head and yellowish-brown body give it a striking appearance. The 

 short and bushy tail is not prehensile. The creature is dull, quiet and rather stupid, and is easily made content in 

 captivity. Its life is spent in the trees and it feeds principally upon fruits. (Pithecia leucocephala.) 



like the Capuchins and sometimes may be seen in 

 company with a troop of those animals. The 

 Squirrel Monkey is very active throughout the en- 

 tire day, but at night he retires to the crowns of 

 palms, where he finds a secure asylum for rest and 

 sleep. He is very timid, never stirs at night, and 

 flees at the slightest alarm by day. When fright- 

 ened from any cause the troop moves in long rows, 

 under the guidance of an old Monkey, which usually 

 succeeds in leading them out of danger. 



How Squirrel Kappler, during his twenty-six years' 



Monkeys Act stay in Guiana, always contrived to 



in Captivity, keep three of these Monkeys in cap- 

 tivity, supplying each vacancy by death with a new 



purchase, and is thus able to speak with intimate 

 knowledge concerning their habits and traits. Ac- 

 cording to him they are called Acalimas and Cabu- 

 anamas by the natives. He says : " The little 

 Monkeys are very cheerful and always active, ex- 

 cept that they sometimes take a nap during the 

 day. They are very easily affected by changes 

 of weather and dislike the cold. I always selected 

 those that were quite young for my collection, and 

 soon taught them to like bread, milk and ripe ba- 

 nanas. In the beginning I let them run at large in 

 the room. They would sometimes suck their thumbs 

 for hours, like babies. The dainty, white little 

 face, black mouth, large bright eyes and engaging 

 manners always produced a favorable impression on 

 everybody. They are not so mischievous as other 



Monkeys; they easily 

 show anger but soon for- 

 get it. Except under 

 provocation they never 

 bite, and when kindly 

 treated are the merriest 

 little creatures in the 

 world. Sometimes they 

 steal a ride upon the 

 backs of the Pigs which 

 roam in the savannas. 

 Every evening at five 

 o'clock they were let 

 loose in the yard and 

 wildly romped and 

 played around until dusk, 

 when they would come in 

 of their own accord to be 

 locked up in their cage. 

 They were fond of in- 

 sects, but did not know 

 how to distinguish be- 

 tween those that were 

 poisonous and those that 

 were harmless. Igno- 

 rance on this point caused 

 three of mine to lose 

 their lives. They are not 

 docile, and are intellect- 

 ually far below the Capu- 

 chin. When they are 

 comfortable, they purr 

 like Kittens ; when an- 

 gry, their cries remind 

 one of a Magpie. Most 

 of them were brought to 

 me from the sea-shore, 

 where they jump around 

 on the Awarra palms, 

 which are quite full of 

 thorns, sharp as needles 

 and three inches long. The Indians shoot the moth- 

 ers while bearing their little ones upon their backs, 

 or they shake the young from the trees, where their 

 dams have left them for a time that is intended to be 

 brief. Rarely is one able to procure a male ; nearly 

 all that were brought to me were females." 



THE OWL MONKEYS. 



Azara was the first naturalist who introduced to 

 the world the Owl Monkey (Nyctipithecus) , which 

 is a most remarkable animal. A little later, Hum- 

 boldt described it ; after him Rengger, Schomburgk 

 and, finally, Bates gave interesting accounts of its 

 habits and traits. To a certain extent the Owl 



