ON A " NEST "-MAKING CHIMPANZEE. 535 



Mr. E. T. Newton, F.R.S., F.Z.S., exhibited two horns of the 

 Sabre-horned Antelope (Oryx leucoryx) not attached to the skull, 

 but supposed to be a pair. The differences between the two 

 horns, both as regards their curvature and peculiar annulation, 

 raise a doubt as to their belonging to the same species, unless 

 these differences may be due to sex. They are said to have come 

 from West Africa. Each of these horns has about five inches of 

 the basal portion covered in leather, with a large loop of the 

 same material, which is evidently native work ; but for what 

 purpose this covering was intended is not clear. There is one 

 horn in the British Museum which has indications of having 

 been similarly covered. 



A '•'■ nest ^'-making Chi'mpanzee. 



Mr. George Jennison contributed the following note upon the 

 " nest " made by a Chimpanzee in the Belle Vue Zoological 

 Gardens, Manchester : — 



A female Chimpanzee {Anthro-poiyxthecus calvus) was purchased 

 for our collection on May 8th, 1913. She was not, in fact is not 

 yet, adult, but had good health, and was kept until May 1914 in 

 a rather small cage (12'xl2 X 10') having access to the open 

 air. She was then removed to our new Chimpanzee house and 

 installed in a large cage, through the middle of which there is a 

 beam about 3 inches wide. Early in August it was noticed that 

 she took a small supply of hay, or would even fray out a rope and 

 lay it carefully along the beam and there lie. 



We therefore nailed a rough branch horizontally from the 

 beam to the wall, so enclosing a space of about 3 feet, and another 

 cross-branch to make a very rough base, and provided a supply 

 of hay, straw, and leafed twigs which were thrown on the floor 

 ten feet below. Next morning the nest was partly made. Careful 

 watching by W. Antcliffe, the keeper, showed that she carried up 

 at first one or two straws and then proceeded to gather a bundle 

 of twigs, which she tucked betw^een one leg and her thigh, 

 dragging herself to her nest by her arms and the other leg. 



The twigs were carefully ari-anged with the leaves to the centre 

 of the nest, and she also gathered up one of her swinging ropes, 

 which she laid in short parallel lines on the twigs. 



Mindful of Du Chaillu (' Exploration in Equatorial Africa'), we 

 nailed suitable branches over the nest as a basis for a roof, but no 

 attempt has been made to utilize them to form a shelter, as, of 

 course, there is no rain in the house. 



The animal spends most of her time in the nest, to which she 

 carries all her food, even a glass of tea, which is taken up like 

 the nesting material in the hollow of the thigh. 



From time to time the nest is either thrown out or falls 

 through, and is reconstructed with fresh material. 



Having succeeded so well with this animal, similar facilities 



