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The Macaques. — — MAMMALIA. The Wanderoo. 



33 



cat, of a greenish-dun colour on tho upper parts and 

 greyish below, and has a long tail. Tlie whole of tlie 

 face is naked, wrinkled, and of a dingy flesh colour ; but 

 the most striking character of the species is to be found 

 in the arrangement of the hair of the crown, which is 

 long and dark-coloured, and instead of standing erect, 

 spreads in all directions like rays proceeding from a 

 common centre, lying upon the surface of the head in 

 the same way as the hair of a scalp wig. It is from 

 this character that the animal has received the name of 

 the bonnet monkey. A somewhat similar disposition 

 of the hair occurs in a nearly allied species, the Croimied 

 MonJccy (Macaciis Pileattis), but this is of a reddish- 

 brown colour, and the hair of the head is nearly erect. 

 In its native country the bonnet monkey meets with an 

 amount of veneration almost equal to that shown in 

 Bengal to the hoonuman (see p. 27) ; although very 

 destructive in the gardens and fields, it is forbidden to 

 kill them, and the natives assemble round any person 

 guilty of this offence, and give him no peace until he 

 has paid for a sumptuous funeral for his victim. Such 

 at least is the account given by Buchanan of the state 

 of matters in Mysore, which, in all probability, relates 

 to this monkey ; and that traveller adds, that the pro- 

 prietors of gardens used to hire men of a particular 

 class, who captured the monkeys and squirrels (wliich, 

 it would appear, are equall}' sacred) in nets, and tlien 

 conveyed them to some distant village ; but as every- 

 body resorted to the same means of getting rid of such 

 troublesome neighbours, the gardeners soon found that 

 the monkey-catchers were the only people who benefited 

 by these proceedings, and accordingly gave them up. 



In confinement, the bonnet monkey is a most amusing 

 fellow when young, as all his actions are performed with 

 an amount of gravity wliich is esceedingly ludicrous. 

 Of all the species usually kept in our menageries, the 

 bonnet monkeys exhibit the most strikhig external 

 marks of mutual aflection. When two or three are kept 

 together they are constantly to be seen hugging or 

 nursing each other, or carefully searching in the fur of 

 their companions for the fleas and other vermin w'liich 

 doubtless harbour there in sufficient abundance to render 

 their destruction a matter of gratification. At all 

 events this appears to be the feeling of the monkeys, 

 who make it an affair of mutual advantage ; for whilst 

 one fellow exhibits tlie most exemplary patience, lying at 

 full length, and submitting to have every part of liis fur 

 investigated by the sharp nails and sharper eyes of his 

 companion — the latter rewards himself for his trouble 

 by immediately devouring any of his friend's troublesome 

 guests that may come under his fingers. Where a 

 specimen of this monkey has none of its own species to 

 contract an intimacy with, it will content itself with 

 some other animal, and a kitten is not unfrequently 

 given to it as a companion. Under these circumstances, 

 as Mr. Ogilby remarks, "nothing can exceed the 

 ridiculous caricature of humanity which it presents — 

 petting, nursing, and hugging the unfortunate kitten, 

 at the imminent risk of choking it, with all the gra- 

 vity and fondness" of a child similarly employed. 

 When adult, however, the deportment of the bonnet 

 monkey becomes entirely changed ; instead of the 

 playful good temper of the young animals, the old 

 Vol. I. 



males exhibit a morose, sullen, and spiteful disposition, 

 which renders it dangerous to attempt any familiarities 

 with them, and the aspect of the animal changes at the 

 same time, and acquires a ferocity which accords but 

 too well with his temper. 



THE MACAQUE {Maccmis Cynomolgus) is another 

 long-tailed species which is also frequently brought to 

 Europe. It is a larger and more robust species than 

 the bonnet monkey, which it resembles in most of its 

 structural characters, and in its disposition. Tlie colour 

 of the upper parts of the body and the outer surface of 

 the limbs is greenish-brown, the lower sinface and the 

 inside of the limbs are gi'eyish-white. The tail, when 

 not injured, is about as long as the body; but the 

 macaque has a curious habit of gnawing the end of his 

 tail, and it is a very common circumstance to see speci- 

 mens with this member considerably abbreviated, most 

 probably in this way. The hair of the crown of the 

 head usually forms a sort of ridge, or crest, running from 

 back to front, and appearing as though it had all been 

 brushed up towards the middle. A specimen which 

 exhibited this peculiarity was described by Buffon under 

 the name of the Aigrette, 



The macaque is far more widely distributed than the 

 bonnet monkey, being found not only on the continent 

 of India, but also on several of the lai-ge islands, espe- 

 cially Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and Celebes. According 

 to Dr. Ilorsfield, it is the commonest monkey in tho 

 forests of Java, where it is a great favourite witli the 

 natives, who constantly domesticate it and keep it in 

 their stables, under the impression that its society is ad- 

 vantageous to the horses. In the European menageries 

 the macaque appears to thrive ; it supports the severity 

 of our winters better than most other monkeys, and lias 

 been several times known to breed in Europe. It is 

 remai'kable that, under these circumstances the female 

 has generally deserted her offspring, although other 

 nearly-allied species have not only bred in confinement, 

 but have tended their young with the greatest care. 

 The habits of this animal in captivity are similar to 

 those of the bonnet monkey, but the old males become 

 even more ferocious and spiteful. 



THE WANDEROO {Macaeus Silcnus) is one of those 

 species of macacpies in which the tail is only about a 

 third of the length of the body. It measures from tliree 

 feet to three feet and a half in height, and is of a robust 

 form; its hair is of a black or blackish colour, as is also 

 the naked skin of its face and paws, but its head is sur- 

 rounded by a long thick mane of greyish hair, resem- 

 bling an enormous wig falling down upon the shoulders, 

 in the style of that remarkable head-dress which is still 

 thought to confer such dignity upon our judges, and per- 

 haps justly, for between this ornament and the habitual 

 gravity of its countenance, the wanderoo acquires a 

 singular air of wisdom and importance, which, in the 

 monkey at any rate, is exceedingly ludicrous. Its tail 

 is tufted at the extremity. 



The name of Wanderoo, commonly given to this 

 monkey, is said to be its ordinary denomination in 

 Ceylon, of whicli island, and the adjacent coasts of 

 continental India, it is an inhabitant. It is said, also, 

 by some writers, to advance far towards the north at 

 certain seasons of the year, and sometimes even to 



