90 THE MINDS AND MANNERS 



copied from an article which appeared in the Philadelphia 

 Public Ledger on December 17, 1909. 



Dr. Witmer declares that the study of this ape's mind is 

 a subject fit, not for the animal psychologist, but for the child 

 psychologist. 



Suzette's Failure in Maternal Instinct. As a closing 

 contribution to our observations on the chimpanzee, I must 

 record a tragic failure in maternal instinct, as well as in general 

 intelligence, in a chimpanzee. 



In 1919 our two fine eight-year old chimpanzees, Boma 

 and Suzette, were happily married. It was a genuine love 

 match, and strictly monogamous at that; for while big Fanny 

 Chimp in the cage next door to Boma loved Boma and openly 

 courted him, he was outrageously indifferent to her, and even 

 scorned her. 



After seven months of gestation, a very good baby was bom 

 to Suzette, quite naturally and successfully. Boma's shouts of 

 excitement and delight carried half a mile throughout the Park. 

 Everything looked most auspicious for the rearing of a wonder- 

 ful cage-bred and cage-born chimpanzee, the second one ever 

 bom in captivity. 



Instead of carrying her infant astride her hip, as do orang 

 mothers, and the coolie women of India, Suzette astonished us 

 beyond measure by tucking it into her groin, between her 

 thigh and her abdomen, head outward. It was a fine place, — 

 warm and soft, — but not good when overdone! When Suzette 

 walked, as she freely did, she held up the leg responsible for 

 the baby, to hold it securely in place, and walked upon the 

 other foot and her two hands. About all this there was one 

 very bad thing. The baby was perfectly helpless ! As long as 

 the mother chose to keep it in her groin prison, it could not 

 get free. 



Suzette was completely isolated, kept absolutely quiet, and 

 every chance was given her to go on with the functions of 

 motherhood. Her breasts contained plenty of milk, and the 



