2 WOLF'S WILD ANIMALS. 



standing on the defensive when wounded, or when retreat has been made 

 impossible. If angered, or in the act of protecting its young, the great strength 

 possessed by the Gorilla would doubtless render it a formidable adversary. 



In stature, the Gorilla is considerably larger than its relative the Chimpanzee, 

 and, so far as can be judged, from such slight knowledge as we have, it does not 

 possess nearly as much intelligence as the latter has frequently shown. The 

 Chimpanzee is very sociable, and most affectionate in disposition, having a strong 

 attachment for its keeper, and exhibiting evei-y sign of uneasiness when separated 

 from him. It is also exceedingly playful and tries every variety of tricks with any 

 other of its kind, that may be confined in the same enclosure. Of course there is 

 sometimes a great difference between individuals; some being cross and surly, and 

 showing a disinclination to be handled much, although, so far as I have seen them, 

 this character appears to be exceptional. The large Apes do not generally go in 

 troops ; a few individuals only being found together. The old males are more 

 savage than the females, and resist all attempts to capture them, by biting severely, 

 and also by dealing heavy blows with their powerful arms. They move rapidly, 

 though awkwardly over the ground, going on all fours, and walking on the knuckles of 

 their front hands, the hind ones being open and placed flat down like a foot. The 

 females carry their young upon their backs, or else clinging to their Tareasts ; their 

 long fur enabling the little ones to hold on with a most tenacious grip, so as to 

 make it almost impossible to tear them away even after the dam has been killed. 



But it is upon the trees that the Apes appear to the greatest advantage, 

 their long powerful arms enabling them to reach considerable distances, and they 

 swing themselves from branch to branch with such easy strength and rapidity that it 

 is impossible for a man to keep up with them in the forest. They pass the night in 

 the trees ; and several species are in the habit, after selecting a fork in the highest 

 part near the trunk, of breaking off good-sized branches, and by laying them across 

 each other in every direction, constructing a rude kind of nest, in which they remain 

 until dawn. Usually they fashion one of these every evening, not returning to any 

 particular spot after roaming about all day, but pass the night wherever they happen 

 to be. The large Apes are only met with in those districts where the forests are of 

 great extent ; for being accustomed to pass over the trees when their tops interlace, 

 by swinging themselves from branch to branch by means of their long arms, they could 

 not exist in open countries or where the trees stood widely apart. When passing 



