IN CAPTIVITY IN LOWER BENGAL. 33 



colour of the body light grey or brown. The tail is about one-half the 

 length of the body and tufted. The female and the young animals 

 have no cloak of long hair. Bare area of the seat large and conspicuous. 

 Hab. — Abyssinia and Arabia. 



Length of life in captivity. 



The maximum period during which an Abyssinian baboon has 

 lived in this garden has been 13 years. 



Treatment in health. 



Housing. — The specimen just alluded to has always been kept in 

 one of the isolated cages by itself and has thriven excellently. This 

 may be owing to the hardy constitution of the animal, or to the fact of 

 its having become acclimatized. As a general rule, however, this kind 

 of monkey should be housed in the same way as other African 

 monkeys — that is, a dry, raised place should be assigned to it, and the 

 animal well protected from the extremes of temperature. 



Food. — An Abyssinian baboon thrives well on a vegetable diet 

 consisting of fruits, roots, grain, boiled rice, &c. It is not, however, 

 a strict vegetarian, being fond of grasshoppers and eggs ; they have 

 been observed to pick up ants and put them into their mouth. 



Breeding. — This monkey has never bred in this garden. 



Transport. — As some of these baboons have been found to bite 

 through the woodwork of their cages, a light iron cage should be 

 provided when it is necessary to carry them a long distance. Under 

 ordinary circumstances the same instructions as have been given under 

 the Ehesus monkey will suffice. 



Treatment in sickness. 



None of the baboons that have lived in this garden have ever 

 suffered from any disease calling for special notice. 



Observations on the habits of a Sacred Abyssinian Baboon. 



The sacred Abyssinian baboon, or the Hamadryad monkey, is 

 intelligent, clever and sociable ; it is as inquisitive as a Rhesus, but its 

 propensities to mischief are less. Though very active, it is not much 

 addicted to saltatory movements : like a human being, it will sit on a 

 raised place, and will make use of a block of wood or a piece of stone 

 for this purpose : one has been found to use its drinking vessel as a seat. 

 It has an expressive way of calling people's attention by a grunting 

 bark, and, when approached, of expressing its pleasure by a rapid 

 quivering of its lips accompanied by low guttural sounds ; if passed 

 by unnoticed, it becomes excited and screams and roars. 



It has an equally expressive way of evincing its anger and distrust. 

 A female Hamadryad monkey once became much attached to a cat. A 

 male that lived for 13 years in the garden had a constitutional dread 

 of water, so that it could never submit to being sprinkled with it: 

 advantage was sometimes taken of this weakness to induce it to give 



