JUNGLE SOCIETY

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 May 1931, Page 9

JUNGLE SOCIETY

SPEECH AND MANNERS That birds and animals have their own form of speech is no longer doubted by naturalists and scientists. The vocabularies of primitive aborigines, it has been discovered, bear a marked relationship to the sounds made by animals; animals may even have been the tutor of primitive man in the matter of speech. “Animals speak, laugh, cry, and give audible expression to their feelings,” declares Joseph Delmont, the German big-game hunter, and he gives some remarkable instances of birds and animals who act the role of sentries and give warning to other creatures around them of the approach of danger. The jay perches for many hours a day on the tops of high trees of the forest. His excellent eyes range over the landscape spread out before him. If he spies a human being in. the distance he utters his by no means unmelodious cry and all the animals of the forest which are accustomed to being hunted by man immediately seek a hiding place. When I say animals I do not mean mammals only. Many of the birds also rdcognise the signal and fly into the denser parts of the forest.

Buffaloes, rhinoceroses, hippopotami, and the great antelopes of the plains, he says are continually being warned in this way by the large and small ox-pecker oi' rhinoceros-bird. These animals take no notice of the bird’s ordinary cry, but they immediately take cover when the shrill, staccato warning ,cry is heard. They interpret the bird’s language in various ways and know exactly what to do from the different calls.

These birds, which find their food in the crevices of the rhino’s hide, are watchful guards and betray the approaching enemy with loud, screechings. They then leave the rhino’s back and fluttei* over him in circles, uttering incessant cries of warning, and fflom time to time dropping on the beast’s head to warn him with vigorous thrusts from their beaks: then rising again to indicate the d’rcction ir which the pachyderm is to escape. MONKEY MEETINGS In the forests of India, says Herr Delmont, the small monkeys hold meetings which are virtually courts of justice. The elder ones preside and chatter in excited -tones. Interruptions are heard from all sides, and if one of the interrupters is too persistent and disturbs the peace it sometimes happens that one of the “officials” or a member of the audience will attack him; he will get a. cuffing and have his ears bitten.

The only silent one is the prisoner, ,’f you do not count a s'' r; ’. frightened whimpering which he sets up froh: time to time. The officials do not give the accused any sUpptort. He must suffer everything dumbly; he knows that the judge and the monkey folk are without mercy and would not forgive him even if he promised to reform. He obediently awaits the judgment, which is nearly always a sentence o.‘ death, and craftily looks roinid for a chance of escape. If'.he succeeds in breaking through the ranks, the whole meeting sets up an angry howl. “Stop thief!” is yelled from all sides, and they set off in pursuit. The accused is seldom fortunate enough to escape his fate, his puisuers are so numerous. Normally monkeys are afraid of the wild boar; they will seek refuge in the highest branches of trees on his approach and scold and bombard him like maniacs. Herr Delmont mentions an instance in which they gave him battle: — . , A band of gibbons were surprised by a boar, and at once fled into the neighbouring trees. During this panic a baby gibbon fell from its mothei s body to which it was clinging in one of the trees. The mother, heedless ot danger, climbed down to save her onspring. The boar at once attacked anc wounded her. Fflom the trees the band of apes had watched the movements of the mother in horror, and when the boar made to renew his attack, all the grown gibbons, not as a rule 1 regal ded as courageous animals, dashed down from the trees and rushed angrily upon the enemy. In the ensuing struggle three ap<. ■■ lost their lives and a number were wounded. The rest, especially he emah>s, dug their teeth frantically into the raging boar and finally forced him to take to his heels.