7 2 APES AND MONKEYS. 



though apparently believed by Blyth and quoted by Jerdon, I agree with Hutton 

 in regarding as fictitious, though, as the latter observer justly remarks, females 

 with very young offspring may keep together, and temporarily apart from the 

 remainder of the troop to which they belong." 



In regard to the cry of these langurs, Mr. Blanf ord observes that " their voice 

 is loud, and is often heard, especially in the morning and evening. The two 

 commonest sounds emitted by them are a loud, joyous, rather musical call, a kind 

 of whoop, generally uttered when they are bounding from tree to tree, and a harsh 

 guttural note, denoting alarm or anger. The latter is the cry familiar to the tiger- 

 hunter, amongst whose best friends is the hanuman. Safely ensconced in a lofty 

 tree, or jumping from one tree to another, as the tiger moves, the monkey by gesture 

 and cry points out the position of his deadly enemy in the bushes or grass beneath, 

 and swears at him heartily. It is marvellous to observe how these monkeys, even 

 in the wildest forests where human beings are rarely seen, appear to recognise 

 men as friends, or at least as allies against the tiger. It is a common but erroneous 

 notion of sportsmen that this guttural cry is a sure indication of a tiger or 

 leopard having been seen, whereas the monkeys quite as often utter it merely as an 

 expression of surprise ; I have heard it caused by the sight of deer running away, 

 and I believe that it is frequently due to the monkeys catching sight of men." 



The food of the hanuman consists largely of leaves and young shoots, and 

 also grain of all kinds, especially in the towns. In disposition the hanuman is 

 gentle, and appears never to attack human beings. Its constitution is delicate when 

 in captivity, probably from the want of suitable food, but the species is generally 

 well represented in the London Zoological Society's Gardens. 



That troops of langurs sometimes engage in fierce contests is 

 proved by an interesting account given by Mr. T. H. Hughes, from w T hich 

 the following extract is taken. Mr. Hughes says that "in April 1882, when encamped 

 at the village of Singpur in the Sohagpur district of the Rewa State, my attention 

 was attracted to a restless gathering of hanumans in the grove adjoining the one in 

 which my tent was pitched ; and, wishing to form some idea as to its cause, I strolled 

 to where the excitement was greatest, and found two opposing troops engaged in 

 demonstrations of an unfriendly character. Two males of one troop, fair-sized 

 brutes, and one of another, a splendid-looking fellow of stalwart proportions, were 

 walking round and displaying their teeth. The solitary gladiator headed a much 

 smaller following than that captained by the other two, and, strange to say, instead 

 of the whole number of monkeys joining in a general melee, the fortune of the 

 question that had to be decided appeared to have been intrusted to the representative 

 champions. It was some time, at least a quarter of an hour, before actual hostilities 

 took place, when, having got within striking distance, the two monkeys made a rush 

 at their adversary. I saw their arms and teeth going viciously, and then the throat 

 of one of the aggressors was ripped right open, and he lay dying. He had done 

 some damage, however, before going under, having wounded his opponent in the 

 shoulder ; and matters then seemed pretty evenly balanced between the remaining 

 stragglers. I confess that my sympathies were with the one champion who had 

 gallantly withstood the charge of his enemies ; and I fancy the tide of victory would 

 have been in his favour had the odds against him not been reinforced by the advance 



