MONKEY LORE

Evening Star, Issue 19522, 1 April 1927, Page 6

MONKEY LORE

GYMNASTICS AND CARE OF THE COMPLEXION German research into the ways of the great apes has been productive of late of some interesting new details. Lecturing at the Berlin Zoological Gardens, Professor Braudes, of Dresden, who is especially interested in orang-outangs, has given it as his opinion that the throat of these animals—constructed somewhat after the fashion of bagpipes —is used for a peculiar kind of rhythraitic. buzzing,_ apparently a form of song in which his own species indulges for minutes at a time. His habit of sitting in a half-doze, scraping hits of chalk from, the walls of his cage, has an uncanny parallel, according to the famous criminal doctor, Professor Strauch, in the ways of prisoners condemned to solitary confinement if they have come from rural districts and are used to the open. Professor Heck, the authority on chimpanzees, declares that there are clever and stupid among monkeys as among human beings, but there are more stupid females than males. He ip of opinion that chimpanzees have a very great respect for one another, and display toleration rather than admiration towards men. They are capable of n great amount of affection and gratitude. When a consignment arrived at the station at Berlin and were placed together again for transport to the Zoo, they snook one another’s hands and embraced repeatedly. When he was at Cape Tenerife a terrible rainstorm frightened and deluged his captives. The professor, awakened by their noisy complaints, lose and opened the cage, inviting them to follow him to a spot under shelter. They seemed shy_ at first, but having followed his advice, showed pleasure by coming up to him one by one and putting their arms about him. Professor Heck declared again, as he has before, that tire idea of caring for the complexion (in this case skin) by constant friction is more powerful than that of searching one another for parasites, and that apes remain young and in good condition by conscious gymnastic exercise when in a state of nature. Hack of this is what causes so much illness in captivity.