Part 62

Papio comatus, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 103 (1812).

Papio porcarius, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 102 (1812); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 124 (1876).

Cynocephalus ursinus, Schinz, Synops. Mamm., i., p. 64 (1844).

CHARACTERS.--Face and ears naked; muzzle protruding, the nose extending beyond the upper lip; the hair of the body long and shaggy, lengthening on the shoulders and the neck, but not forming a conspicuous mane; whiskers small and directed backwards; tail slightly exceeding half the length of the body, elevated at its base, and then descending perpendicularly; callosities small; hands and feet naked. Sense of smell acute.

Skull flattened, the cranial portion smaller than the facial; ridges above and at the sides of the close-set orbits very large; nasal bones long and prominent; canine teeth very large and triangular.

General colour dark brown or nearly black, washed with green, especially on the forehead, the hairs being grey at the base, then ringed alternately with black and green; some of {264}them, however, lighter. Head, arms, and legs black; face, hands, feet, and ears dark blue; a white ring encircling each eye; upper eyelids white; whiskers grey.

FEMALE AND YOUNG MALE.--Similar to the adult male in wanting a conspicuous mane; head rounder; nose less protuberant; cranial portion of skull less conspicuously disproportionate to the facial portion.

DISTRIBUTION.--This species inhabits South Africa; and in the Cape Colony it is found in large troops.

HABITS.--The Chacma, which is the largest of all the Baboons, lives, like the others, in troops, consisting of nearly a hundred individuals. They inhabit rocky places, and apparently prefer country broken into steep cliffs and rocky crags, very often in the neighbourhood of the sea. The Chacmas are very ferocious and dangerous, and in captivity, when fully adult, extremely jealous, but when young they are said to be playful and well-dispositioned. They are, moreover, very intelligent. Their sense of smell, especially for hidden water-springs in dry and arid districts, is said to be remarkable. "An animal," says Le Vaillant, in his "Travels in Africa," "that rendered me more effectual services; which, by its useful presence, suspended and even dissipated certain bitter and disagreeable reflections that occurred to my mind; which, by its simple and striking instinct, seemed to anticipate my efforts; and which comforted me in my languor--was an Ape, of that kind so common at the Cape, under the name of Cawiars. As it was extremely familiar, and attached itself to me in a particular manner, I made it my taster. When we found any fruit or roots unknown to my Hottentots, we never touched them until my dear Kees [the Chacma] had first tasted them; if it refused them, we {265}judged them to be either disagreeable or dangerous, and threw them away." The food of the "Chacma," an Anglicised form of the Hottentot name for this Baboon, consists of Lizards, Scorpions, Centipedes, and all manner of insects; birds' eggs, gum, and honey are particularly relished by it. When these are difficult to find, it searches for the bulbous roots of certain liliaceous plants, of which it is very fond, and which it very ingeniously disinters. As Le Vaillant has recorded of the same individual to which we have just referred: "He laid hold of the tuft of leaves with his teeth, and pressing his four paws firmly against the earth, and drawing his head backwards, the root generally followed; when this method did not succeed, he seized the tuft as before, as close to the earth as he could, then throwing his heels over his head, the root always yielded to the jerk he gave it."

V. THE YELLOW BABOON. PAPIO BABUIN.

Le petit papion, Buffon, Hist. Nat. Mamm., xiv., pl. 14 (1766).

Papio cynocephalus, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 102 (1812); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 127 (1876).

Cynocephalus babouin, Desm., Mamm., p. 68 (1820); (Le babouin), F. Cuvier, Mem. du Mus., iv., p. 419, pl. 19 (1818); id. Hist. Nat. Mamm., livr. iv. (1819); Is. Geoffr., Arch. Mus., ii., p. 579, pl. 34 (1841); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 35 (1870).

Simia cynocephala, Fischer, Synop. Mamm., p. 33 (1829).

Cynocephalus anubis, var. Wagner in Schreb., Säugeth., Suppl., v., p. 63 (1855).

CHARACTERS.--ADULT MALE.--Snout elongate, not surpassing the upper lip; nostrils large, round, separated by a longitudinal furrow above; tail shorter than the body, haired throughout its {266}length; curved upwards at the root, and then descending straightly; no mane; hair of crown elongated, a large tuft directed backwards on each cheek, forming large whiskers.

General colour of fur brownish-yellow; ears nude, coloured like the face; face livid flesh-colour, deeper round the eyes; upper side of body uniform brownish-yellow, the hairs being ringed alternately with broader yellow and narrower black bars; sides of body somewhat darker; throat and under side paler yellow than above; whisker-tufts pale citron-yellow; hands and feet like the back in colour, their naked parts like the face.

YOUNG MALE.--Coloration of upper parts similar to that of the adult male, but paler underneath; the snout less protuberant.

DISTRIBUTION.--This species inhabits Western Abyssinia, Nubia (Dongola), and the Soudan (Sennaar), at elevations of from 2,000 to 5,000 feet. It also occurs on the West Coast of Africa--having been brought from the Coanza river by the late Captain Cameron, R.N.; in East Africa Mr. H. H. Johnston has observed it on Mount Kilimanjaro; while from the remarks of Sir John Kirk given below it would seem to extend also as far south as the Zambesi (Tete).

HABITS.--Very little is known of the habits of the Baboons in a state of nature; but it is probable that this species does not differ materially in its ways and manners of life from those of its near relations described in the preceding pages. Sir John Kirk says that in some parts of Africa, such as Tete, Batoko, and Rovuma it is considered to be a sacred animal by the natives, and is thus unmolested.

VI. THE ANUBIS BABOON. PAPIO ANUBIS.

Cynocephalus anubis, F. Cuvier et Geoffr., Hist. Nat. Mammif., vol. iii., livr. 50 (1825).

{267}Cynocephalus anubis, Waterh., Mamm., Zool. Soc. Lond. (2), p. 8 (1838); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 34 (1870).

Cynocephalus olivaceus, Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 34 (1851); id. Arch. Mus., v., p. 543, note (1848).

Papio anubis, Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 125 (1876).

CHARACTERS.--Snout very elongated; nape of the neck crested. Face black; general colour uniform olive-green; the hairs being grey at the base and ringed higher up with bars of black and yellow; arms and legs like the back; the naked hands and feet flesh-colour.

DISTRIBUTION.--Interior of West Africa. Lagos, in the Bight of Benin, is the port from which this species is generally shipped to Europe.

HABITS.--The Anubis Baboon is not a common species in captivity, as the natives are terribly afraid of its strength and ferocity. The animals wander about in companies, inhabiting chiefly the dry, rocky, mountainous regions in the interior of West Africa, feeding on the peculiar vegetation that they find there; digging up the roots of grasses, and gnawing with their strong jaws the roots and stems of an extraordinary short, woody, top-shaped plant, known as Welwitschia, which produces in its youth two leaves, and never more in its lifetime, though attaining to a great age. They feed also on the Scytonema, a moisture-storing plant, which grows only on rocks. Though affecting dry, rocky regions from choice, the Anubis Baboons often descend in large hordes to the cultivated country, and ravage the gardens of the natives.