CHACMA BABOON 13 



are generally a little too ready with their powerful teeth. 

 In the Eastern Province of the Cape the writer has seen 

 large troops of Baboons stealing the green mealie-cobs 

 and pumpkins from the lands, and a favourite method of 

 killing them was to set a spring-gun across an opening in 

 the hedge which surrounded the fields. They are often 

 very tenacious of life, and old males sometimes take a lot 

 of killing, although Major Hamilton thinks differently. I 

 once saw an old male with five bullet holes in him being 

 dragged along by natives, and he was continually catch- 

 ing at and holding on to tufts of grass, bushes, &c., until 

 a bullet in his brain put an end to his misery. Another 

 hideous sight I have seen on more than one occasion 

 was the tearing out of the entrails by Baboons wounded 

 in the stomach. They will also stuff the wound with 

 grass. 



The Chacma is fairly sagacious, and soon learns to 

 perform various tricks, hence being in constant demand 

 by circuses and menageries. An old male in the Pretoria 

 Zoo was very good at somersaults, but he would not 

 exhibit his skill without payment. I have repeatedly 

 tried to cheat him into imagining I had food in my 

 pockets for him, but he would take no notice of such 

 make-belief, and refused to ' show off ' until the tit-bit 

 was openly shown him. 



Another individual we have had for some time has 

 learnt quite a number of tricks, and besides throwing 

 somersaults, he twists or waltzes round to the left, 

 as well as to the right, stands up, gives the military 

 ' salute, shakes hands, puts on a hat, and fetches a stone or 

 any other handy article pointed out to him. However, 

 like the first-mentioned animal, he refuses to perform 

 without being shown a reward in the way of something 

 tasty, or he has to be threatened with a whip or stick. 



