28 a hand-book of the management of animals 



Observations on the habits of a Stump-tailed Monkey. 



In habits it resembles the Himalayan monkey very closely, having 

 the same slow and languid movements. It appears to lose much of the 

 red colour of its face when kept in a place where there is a want of 

 sufficient light. The speoimen now in the garden is rather savage 

 in its disposition. 



(31) THE LION-TAILED MONKEY. 



(MACACUS SILEN3JS— Schred% 



Hindi — Shia Bandar. Bengali — Nil Bandar. 



Description.- — A black- coloured monkey of a slender build. Its 



chief features are its ruff of light- coloured hair on the chin, throat, cheeks, 



and temples, encircling the head, and its tufted tail. The ruff does 



not meet on the forehead. An adult monkey measures about 21 inches 



(head and body) ; tail about 13 inches. 



Hab. — The forest of the Syhadri Range or Western Ghats near the 

 Malabar Coast from about 14° north to Cape Comorin, and at a 

 considerable elevation above the sea. Most common in Cochin and 

 Travancore. 



Length of life in captivity. 



An adult specimen lived for about six years in the garden, and 

 a pair of adolescent animals have been living since 1888. 



Treatment in health. 



Housing. — Adult lion-tailed monkeys are quite capable of defend- 

 ing themselves, and may therefore be kept, if necessary, with the Rhesus 

 and the Macaque monkeys. The younger ones are generally shy and 

 timid, and liable to be maltreated by others if kept with a number; 

 they should therefore be kept by themselves, or with other equally 

 harmless and timid animals. With respect to cold and warmth, they 

 should be treated in the same way as any other monkey of a delicate 

 nature. Although one of the adolescent monkeys now living in the 

 garden has not enjoyed first-rate health, no better accommodation than 

 the Gubbay House (see page 6) could have been provided. 



Food. — This monkey should be fed in the same way as other 

 monkeys of the same genus. The younger specimens need careful 

 feeding, as overfeeding has been found to cause flatulent indigestion. 

 It does not seem to care for animal food in any shape. 



Treatment in sickness. 



The adult lion-tailed monkey, after having lived in good health 

 for about five years, had an attack of paralysis, from which it never 

 completely recovered. The symptoms were like those of shaking 

 palsy, which in human beings sometimes results from excessive drink- 

 ing. In attempting the slightest movement its limbs, body, and even 

 head, would shake. The animal was removed from the monkey-house 



