Chapter I: The Barbary Macaque. Macacus Inuus

_Simia inuus_, Linn., Syst. Nat., i., p. 34 (1766).

_Simia sylvanus_, Linn., t.c. p. 35.

_Inuus ecaudatus_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 100 (1812); Gray, Cat.
Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 32 (1870).

_Le magot_, F. Cuvier et Geoffr., Mamm., livr. ii. (1819); F. Cuv.,
Mammif., p. 114, pl. 41.

_Macacus inuus_, Desmar., Mamm., p. 67 (1820).

_Inuus pithecus_, Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth., Primates, p. 31 (1851).

_Macacus sylvanus_, Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 115 (1876).

CHARACTERS.--Body short and thick-set, and about as big as a moderately-sized Dog. Head oblong, long, rounded, and wrinkled; face and chin naked; eyes approximated, set deep below the superciliary ridges; brow small; neck short. Ears pointed at their hind upper angle, and their margins haired; nose not prominent; nostrils two slit-like orifices converging at right angles to the partition; lips slender, extensile; upper {5}lip broad; callosities less extensive than in the Baboons; tail invisible externally; toes longer than the fingers, and both much haired. Hair on the crown short and reflexed; hairs on the cheeks forming a whisker, directed backward; hair of the fore-arms directed towards the elbow.

Crown, and sides of head, cheeks, neck, shoulders, upper back, and front of fore-limbs golden-yellow, mixed with a few black hairs, the individual hairs being dark grey at the base, ringed for the rest of their length with yellow and grey; the rest of the upper part of the body greyish-yellow or yellowish-brown; under side of lower jaw, lower side of body, and inner face of limbs greyish-yellow, or yellowish-white; a dark spot of black hairs tipped with yellow at the inner angle of each eye, and stretching down on the cheeks; naked parts of face, ears, and callosities pale flesh-colour, as also is the thinly-haired skin of the inner sides of the limbs; tail represented by a small tubercle of naked skin. Length of the body, 2½ feet.

FEMALE.--Exactly resembles the male in coloration, but is slightly smaller in size, and more amiable in disposition; the canines scarcely larger than the incisors.

DISTRIBUTION.--This species, named by the French "Magot," inhabits Morocco, and Algeria in Northern Africa. It is found also on the Rock of Gibraltar, and some distance inland in Spain; but whether it has been transported from Africa, or has lived there since its ancestors were left isolated when the Straits of Gibraltar subsided and separated Europe from Africa, is a question impossible to decide now. It is certain that the Moors bring now, and probably for ages have been in the habit of bringing, captive specimens of this Monkey, to trade away on the European side; it is, therefore, {6}not impossible that the "Apes of the Rock" may have thus been introduced. This is the only African (or European) species of the genus.

HABITS.--This Monkey has been known to science for many centuries. It is now certain, as M. Frederick Cuvier remarks in his "History of Mammals," thanks to the researches of M. de Blainville upon the Monkey dissected by Galen, that the _Pithecus_ of Aristotle was our Magot, as we know of no other species of Macaque without a tail. The Barbary Macaques, when on the ground, invariably walk on their four legs, but in an uneasy and clumsy manner compared with their motions when climbing; they are far more at home in trees or rocks, where they climb with amazing rapidity. They live chiefly on fruits and leaves, feeding themselves with their hands, and smelling everything they are uncertain about, before putting it into the mouth. They also eat grass very readily. They are found in large crowds in the forests of Barbary, which reach to the sea, and are very destructive to the cultivated fields of the Moors, on which they make constant raids, and during which, like the Baboons, they post sentinels to give warning of danger to their foraging friends. This Monkey sleeps on its side or in a sitting posture with its head dropped between its knees.

On the European side of the Mediterranean, these Apes were at one time very abundant on the Rock of Gibraltar, but as they robbed the gardens of the garrison they were killed by every means for several years, till they were eventually reduced to three. Orders were, however, issued by the authorities for their preservation, and a few additional pairs were imported from Africa. They now frequent the inaccessible ledges of the Rock, especially on its Mediterranean face, on which they climb about with marvellous rapidity.

{7}In reply to inquiries about the present condition of the Barbary Apes (_Macacus inuus_) on the Rock, Dr. Sclater records in 1893 that General Sir Lothian Bell, the Governor of Gibraltar, had informed him "that they were now distinctly increasing in numbers. He had himself counted as many as thirty in one group, and, according to some reports, there were altogether as many as double that number on the Rock. In fact they were so numerous, and their depredations had become so serious that a short time ago an agitation had been got up for their reduction in numbers, and it would perhaps be necessary to thin them a little, but their extermination was quite out of the question, and would not be thought of."

These animals are remarkably affectionate parents, the mother constantly tending her single young one, while the males may often be seen carrying about some of the babies of the troop. When young the "Rock Ape" is playful and gentle; but, when old, becomes ill-natured and vicious.

When angry their jaws are moved up and down with great rapidity, while they give utterance to loud and harsh cries. The males fight with their strong canine teeth and their long and strong, though flat, nails, with which they are capable of inflicting deep wounds on each other. When in a good temper their voice is generally soft; but Mr. Darwin observed in the Zoological Gardens that a specimen there, when pleased, made a shrill note, and likewise drew back the corners of its mouth, apparently through the contraction of the same muscles as with human beings. The skin of the lower eyelids also became much wrinkled. "At the same time it rapidly moved its lower jaw or lips in a spasmodic manner, the teeth being exposed; but the noise produced was hardly more distinct than that which we call silent laughter. Two of the keepers affirmed that this {8}slight sound was the animal's laughter, and when I expressed some doubt on this head (being at the time quite inexperienced) they made it attack, or rather threaten, a hated _Entellus_ Monkey, living in the same compartment. Instantly the whole expression of the face of the _Inuus_ changed; the mouth was opened much more widely, the canine teeth were more fully exposed, and a hoarse barking noise was uttered."