QUAINT FRIENDS

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 83, 8 April 1938, Page 4

QUAINT FRIENDS

AT THE LONDON ZOO,

! One meets at the Zoo examples of .friendship between animals which are unexpected and sometimes rather touching, says the "Manchester Guardians" London correspondent' A case in point is the friendship botween 1 Mary, the only surviving orang-outang, and. her present companion, a young male Guinea baboon. Mary is judged' to be about thirteen or fourteen years , old and the young baboon r.bout three. At a guess I should say, that, species for species, their ages may correspond fairly closely. Mary has always been a slow-moving and apparently rather slow-witted personality,'-but she was affectionate, as was proved^by the fact that when,,her former companion, a , young chimpanzee, fell sick and had to be removed to the sanatorium she moped and refused' all food for four whole days. Something had to be done, and the keepers introduced to her den a capuchin monkey. What Mary thought of this is not known, for th* capuchin was so miserable and, we may judge, scared that it was removed at once.

THE GUINEA BABOON.

In anothei; cage:a rather-; nervous young Guinea. baboon was being bullied and scared by its' cage mates. It was put into Mary's den arid took to - Mary -at orice. ;Mary and the baboon are delighted with one another. ' It is rather moving to see llVlary place a great slow, affectionate arm -, round the baboon,. which she could so easily tear limb from limb, or the baboon, with its little slender hands, holding on to her .great forearm. From the moment the baboon entered' the.cage Mary regained.her ap:.petite, and the keepers say :-they v have never. known ' her, so ■;brightg> l The baboon also, from being? a' shrinking, nervous little monkey,-, is new -futt|of confidence and ohviously*happy".- ,fPerhaps the strongest'proof of their-ii-nd-ship between them .is that they:,|how no jealousy over thV.choicestjfoodi- The "one thing that seem?. ■-o.,puzzie";|Mary about her new friepdas^fct^^mt «!-• is geUiug used" io it.'" """"' " X-«-«-'