64 APES AND MONKEYS 



linked through mine, and he would resist any attempt I made to go away. He 

 was extremely clean in his habits, which cannot be said of all the monkey tribe. 

 Soon after he came to me I gave him a piece of blanket to sleep on in his box, but 

 the next morning I found he had rolled it up and made a sort of pillow for his 

 head, so a second piece was given him. He was destined for the Queen's Gardens 

 at Delhi, but, unfortunately, on his way up he got a chill, and contracted a disease 

 akin to consumption. During his illness he was most carefully attended by my 

 brother, who had a little bed made for him, and the doctor came daily to see the 

 little patient, who gratefully acknowledged their attentions; but, to their dis- 

 appointment, he died. The only objection to these monkeys as pets is the power 

 they have of howling, or rather whooping, a piercing and somewhat hysterical 

 * whoop-poo ! whoop-poo ! whoop-poo ! ' for several minutes, till fairly exhausted." 



Under the heading of gibbons in general we have already alluded to the wide 

 distance over which the cries of a hoolock kept in the Zoological Gardens at 

 Calcutta could be heard. Mr. Blanford, writing of the cries of these animals, 

 observes that "at a distance the sound much resembles a human voice; it is a 

 peculiar wailing note, audible from afar, and in the countries inhabited by these 

 animals is one of the most familiar forest sounds. The calls commence at day- 

 break, and are continued until 9 or 10 A.M., several of the flock joining in the cry, 

 like hounds giving tongue. After 9 or 10 o'clock in the morning the animals feed 

 or rest, and remain silent throughout the middle of the day, but recommence calling 

 towards evening, though to a less extent than in the earlier part of the day." 



Like the white-handed gibbon, hoolocks have been exhibited, although less 

 numerously, in the Gardens of the Zoological Society in Regent's Park. 



The Hainan gibbon (H. hainanus), from the island of Hainan, China, is allied 

 to the hoolock, but differs from that and all other species, except the siamang, by 

 the absence of a white band on the forehead, and is thus black throughout. 



THE AGILE GIBBON (Hylobates agilis). 



According to Dr. John Anderson, the agile gibbon is subject to such an amount 

 of individual variation that several so-called species, such as the Malay gibbon (H. 

 rafflesi), of Sumatra, and the crowned gibbon (H. pileatus), of Siam, have been founded 

 upon what appear to be nothing more than local races of one and the same species. 



Inclusive of all these local varieties, the agile gibbon has a rather wide 

 geographical distribution, ranging from Cochin-China to Siam ; it is also found in 

 Sumatra and Borneo, as well as in the small islands of the Sulu Archipelago lying 

 between Borneo and the Philippines. 



The activity of the agile gibbon is sufficiently attested by its name. It was this 

 species which was first observed to have the power of catching birds while on the wing. 

 According to Duvaucel, these animals are capable of taking clear leaps of forty feet 

 when passing from bough to bough. They are stated to live generally in pairs rather 

 than in droves ; and are known to the natives of Sumatra as Ungka, or Ungka-puti. 



In the typical form of the agile gibbon from Sumatra the general colour is 

 usually dark brown; the face being bluish-black or brown, and surrounded by 

 whitish hair, through which the ears are only partially visible, and the hands and 



