THE MANDRILL 



(Cynocephalus mormon) 



Both in strength and in the attention it attracts the Mandrill comes 

 next to the great man-like apes, and, indeed, its very name would seem 

 really to belong to the Chimpanzee, for an old Dictionary of 1681 says 

 that " Drill " means a " large overgrown ape or baboon, so-called," while 

 an early woodcut of the " Mandrill," in William Smith's " Voyage to 

 Guinea" (1744), is certainly intended for the superior animal; to say 

 nothing of the accompanying description, which is that of an undoubted 

 Chimpanzee. 



Anything in the shape of a monkey less man-like than the old 

 male Mandrill can scarcely be imagined, and, indeed, the Baboons, of 

 which he is the chief, depart further from human form and feature 

 than any other monkeys. In the Mandrill the difference is accentuated 

 by the great size of the head, with its long, swollen, ridged muzzle, so 

 brilliantly decorated with blue and scarlet. Like all the typical monkeys 

 the Mandrill is a true quadruped, habitually going on all fours, the 

 hind-feet being flat on the ground, and the fore-feet only touching it 

 by the under surface of the fingers. The body is remarkably short 

 and stout, and the limbs also short and robust ; the hands and feet are 

 small and neat-looking for so huge and burly an animal, and the former 

 look particularly human. The tail is a ridiculous two-inch stump, 

 carried erect and set on very high ; the hind-quarters are very thinly 

 haired, the skin here being really beautifully coloured with scarlet, 

 azure, lilac, and pink. The coat generally is thick and rather long, of 

 an olive colour, the hairs being ringed with yellow and black much 

 as in the Guenons. 



The male reaches the size of a very large dog when adult, and 

 stands five feet high when on his hind-legs ; he does not attain his full 

 face-colour till he cuts his great canines — which are as big and formidable 

 as a Leopard's — at nine years old. Till then his face lacks the red 

 tints, as the female's always does. - '■ 



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