BOTANIC GARDENS MENAGERIE. 145 



so fat that the heart was quite enclosed in cushions of fat. 

 One, and if I remember correctly, the other fell dead after a 

 Chinese holiday, when crowds of people came and gave the 

 animals so much food that the orgy proved fatal. 

 Cynopithecus niger. 



Both forms of this monkey have been kept in the Gardens 

 Menagerie. The short-haired form from Celebes and the long- 

 haired one from Batchian. I cannot find in any books that 

 these two apes have been separated specifically anywhere, 

 which is rather remarkable, considering how the mammals have 

 been divided up on very scanty characters by Zoologists. 

 The short-haired form is the commonest, and is often brought 

 into Singapore by the Bugis men. The long-haired one, a 

 bigger ape, is very distinct not only in size and length of hair 

 but it also possesses a large patch of grey hair on the buttocks. 

 Only one of these has been on view in the gardens, a fine 

 male. He was received when apparently full grown in 1891 

 and died of old age in 1905. He was a very vicious and 

 powerful ape when he first came, and it was unsafe to go into 

 his cage, as he fleAV at the throat of any one who attempted it. 

 Later he became much quieter, but was never really safe. 

 This monkey was the only one T ever saw who had any idea of 

 throwing. He threw stones over-hand as a woman does, with 

 considerable accuracy, and visitors often threw stones into his 

 cage which he hurled back at them, through the bars and on 

 some occasions hit a visitor on the head or face. One lady 

 indeed got a cut on the mouth from a stone she had imprudent- 

 ly thrown to him. When pleased with any one he would 

 turn his back and standing erect often on one leg would grasp 

 the back of the left thigh with the right hand. (Macacus 

 nemestrinus often does the same thing). When he drank from 

 a tin, it was his delight to suddenly throw the tin and the 

 rest of the water over the keeper who was giving it to him. 

 Though confined for some time in a cage with a female of the 

 short-haired form he never attempted to breed with her, nor 

 was otherwise than friendly with a male Berok who was in the 

 same cage and bred with the female. The short-haired black 

 ape is very good-tempered usually, but very mischievous. 



R. A. Soc.,No. 46, 19(6. 



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