BOTANICiGARDENS MENAGERIE. 141 



presided over by a large male. There has long been a number 

 of this monkey in the Botanical Gardens jungle, but of late 

 they have diminished in numbers owing to the clearing away 

 of the woods in the neighbourhood, and the failure of food 

 supply due to this is probably the reason of their diminished- 

 numbers. There are now two families of them, one in the 

 Upper Garden and one in the Economic Garden. Each of these 

 families consists of two or more adult males, some younger males 

 and a number of females. It would be perhaps incorrect to say 

 that all these are descended from a single pair, or two pairs, but 

 as there has not apparently been any admixture of fresh blood 

 for very many years, they must all be very closely related. 

 It is true that residents have on several occasions released their 

 pet monkeys in the gardens so that they can join the wild 

 ones, but the freed ones do not usually do so but almost invari- 

 ably go to the nearest house for food and remain there till they 

 are either caught or shot as nuisances. In a family of 

 monkeys no stranger is admitted without a fight. If 

 a female is put with the family the females attack her. If 

 a male the males attack him. He or she generally gets badly 

 bitten and sometimes killed. If the stranger can hold his own 

 he may be accepted, and eventually may, if powerful enough, be- 

 come head of the clan. In fighting, the top of the head and 

 the thorax are the points generally attacked. 



A Berok, Macacus emestrimis of no great size but a 

 powerful monkey, during the absence of the keeper, broke 

 his way into a cage .of kras, and was set upon ; when 

 rescued he was found nearly insensible with the scalp 

 torn and hanging from the top of his head and a bite 

 through the thorax into the lungs, whence air was is- 

 suing. He completely recovered in about a week, or so, and 

 lived for several years, when again he broke the cage and got 

 among the enemy. Though a powerful monkey he offered 

 practically no resistance and this time received a bite on the 

 thigh, which would have been of no importance but it got in- 

 fected with tetanus of which he died in about three days. 



A great fight took place among the wild monkeys in the 

 gardens on one occasion, between the old king monkey and a 



R. A.Soc, No. 4fi, 1906. 



