52 



GORILLAS AND CHIMPANZEES 



except the statement of the natives that it was true. 

 On the contrary, certain facts point to the opposite 

 beHef. If the ape built him a permanent home the 

 natives would soon discover it, and there would be 

 no difficulty in having it pointed out. If he built a 

 new one every night, however rude and primitive it 

 might be there would be so many of them in the 

 forest that there would be no difficulty in finding 

 them. The nomadic habit plainly shows that he 

 does not build the former kind, and the utter ab- 

 sence of them shows that he does not build the 

 latter kind, and the whole story appears to be without 

 foundation. 



In addition to these facts, one thing to be noticed 

 is that few or none of the mammals of the tropics 

 ever build any kind of a home. Even the animals 

 that have the habit of burrowing in other climates, 

 do not appear to do so in the tropics. This is due, 

 no doubt, to the warm climate, in which they are 

 not in need of shelter. Of course birds, and other 

 oviperous animals, build nests, as they do else- 

 where. 



The longevity of these apes is largely a matter of 

 conjecture, but from a cursory study of their denti- 

 tion and other factors of their development, it 

 appears that the male reaches the adult stage at an 

 age ranging from nine to eleven years, while the 

 female matures at six or seven. These appear to be 

 the periods at which they pass from the state of 

 adolescence. Some of them live to be perhaps forty 

 years of age, or upwards, but the average of life is 



