THE GUEKEZA 23 



ever, with the greatest consideration, and would even allow him to take 

 away food. The ' monkey, for his part, would often sit beside the 

 Mongoose with his arm round it, in which position they reminded 

 one most comically of those pictures of a little child and a big dog which 

 are so popular. 



Unfortunately, although the Mongoose, now full-grown, survives at 

 the time of writing, the monkey is now dead. The Guerezas, like the 

 Lungoors, are delicate animals in captivity, and, as in their case, special 

 arrangements will have to be made if they are ever to be kept success- 

 fully. The beautiful brush-tailed Alpine variety, although not so far 

 imported alive, would probably be the best for European menageries, as 

 it ought to be suitable for out-door treatment. 



All the Guerezas are rare in captivity, and the Abyssinian and 

 Angolan species, mentioned above, have only been exhibited in the 

 Zoological Gardens quite lately. There are about a dozen species 

 altogether in this group, and of these half are either black-and-white 

 or all black. The beautiful silky fur of these creatures is in great 

 request for ornament, not only among African savages, who delight in 

 making war head-dresses of it, but also among civilised people, who 

 ought to know better, for these monkeys are not in any way noxious or 

 objectionable animals, and deserve protection rather than persecution at 

 the hands of humanity. 



The largest kind, and one of the best known, is the black Guereza 

 {Colobus satanas) of the West Coast of Africa, which measures more 

 than a yard long in the body, and has a tail also of great length. As 

 its name implies, it is black all over, both in fur and face. 



Kirk's Guereza {Colobus kirki), of the island of Zanzibar, which ex- 

 hibits brown as well as black-and-white in its colouration, has a peculiar 

 and melancholy interest as the only monkey which has become extinct by 

 human agency. It was confined to the island, and Sir John Kirk, its 

 discoverer, finding that in 1884 it had nearly disappeared owing to the 

 destruction of the forest, sent his native hunters to a wood where it was 

 believed to linger, to report upon it. The wretched negroes discovered a 

 dozen specimens, and killed them all ! 



