52 -THE MAMMALS OF ETHIOPIAN AFRICA 



great love for cleanliness ; if anything was sticking to its hair, it either tried to 

 wipe it off, or asked the sailors by an unmistakable gesture of extending its arms 

 to take it off. If unable to get any object it wanted, it knew how to arrive at its 

 purpose by other means. If it wanted sugar or fruit from the cupboard in the 

 dining-room it suddenly interrupted its play, but instead of going directly into the 

 room, as soon as it knew itself to be free from observation it turned in that 

 direction, and then went straight clown into the room, opened the cupboard, and 

 clutched the sugar-basin or fruit-dish. 



The second African man-like ape is the chimpanzi (Anthropo- 

 Cliimpanzi. ...... 



pitliecus troglodytes), which is likewise an inhabitant of the equa- 

 torial forest-zone, where, however, it has a wider range than the gorilla. Some 

 of the features distinguishing the chimpanzi from the gorilla are noticed under 

 the heading of the latter, and it is unnecessary to say more, except to add that 

 in the skull the nasal bones of the gorilla descend much lower than do those 

 of its relative. The typical West African chimpanzi is a considerably smaller 

 animal than the gorilla, but there are certain local races of the former which 

 approximate much closer in stature, as well as in the form of the head, to the 

 latter. The well-known ape named " Mafuka," which lived for some time in 

 captivity in Dresden, was one of these gorilla-like chimpanzis, as was also 

 " Johanna," a female which was exhibited alive some years ago in England. 

 Another large local race is represented by du Chaillu's kulu-kamba (A. troglodytes 

 kulu-kamba) ; while a fourth race is the so-called bald chimpanzi (A. t. ccdvus). 



The distributional area of the chimpanzi includes a considerable tract in west 

 and central equatorial Africa ; the limits of its range being formed approximately by 

 the twelfth degree of latitude on each side of the equator, while in the opposite 

 direction the range extends from the west coast to the great lakes in the heart of 

 the continent. Like all man-like apes, the chimpanzi is a native of the forests, and 

 subsists on fruits of various kinds. In many districts it is a more exclusively 

 arboreal animal than the gorilla, but in the south-western portion of its range it 

 spends much of its time on the ground. This is notably the case in the Niam- 

 Niam forests, where the trees form almost impenetrable thickets, their stout 

 trunks being generally thickly overgrown with wild pepper, while the branches 

 are clothed with large hanging beard-like lichens and peculiar ferns commonly 

 known as elephants' ears. Many of the decaying trunks support a climbing 

 leguminous plant with yellow or white flowers and long leathery pods, whose 

 hanging garlands form bowers enveloped in perpetual gloom. In the higher 

 branches of the trees are generally to be found nests of forest-ants. When in a 

 home of this nature, chimpanzis seem to be constantly shifting their abode, in order 

 to find fresh and sufficient supplies of fruit. 



In the wild state chimpanzis are reported to flee, in most instances, at the 

 sight of man, although if brought to bay they fight savagely and fiercely. They 

 are said to seize leopards by their paws and to bite them severely, sometimes to 

 such an extent as to cause death. If they are wounded in such contests, they 

 retire as soon as possible to retreats among the trees, where they loudly bewail 

 their ill-fortune. Lions, although they will not eat them, are stated to attack 

 chimpanzis and tear off their limbs. 



