THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2323, 8 September 1898, Page 54

THE NATURALIST.

How Monkey Gangs Are Broken Up. Monkeys are an unmitigated nuisance, especially in the country. I have often come across in the jungles adjoining the villages of .Northern Bengal whole troops of- them, whose depredations on the fields and orchards were the despair of the unfortunate villagers. These troops^ always consisted of one huge male and about 100 females. The fact is, when a little monkey is born in the pack, it is suffered to live if a female, but i instantly killed by the father if it happens j to be a male. The mother, however, some- j times manages to hide the little one till he j is able to get about, and then send him away I before the big male catches sight of him. \ In this way it often happens that individual i males are to be found living by themselves in single blessedness. Now, getting tired of solitude after a time, and perhaps believing in union as a source of strength, these bachelors often join together and form a pack of their own — as a sort of club. Then the fun begins. They want wives — very naturally. But how are they to get them? All the female monkeys of the country belong to the harem of some big brute or other. Clearly, the only solution is to attack such a harem, kill the gotha (the aforesaid big brute), and then divide the spoils. So an ultimatum as sent — and rejected. War is declared. The battle is a fierce one and often lasts several days. The party attacked always tries to retreat, and often traverses several jungles, fields, and even villages. But the pursuit is hot and vigorous, and a last stand has to to be made — sometimes in a village green, or even an orchard of some country mansion. In the actual fight the females generally remain faithful to their lord and master, and help him fiercely against his numerous assailants, j But the result is a foregone conclusion, and the several widows, after a very short ' period of mourning — usually manifested by a i show of ill-temper — are consoled by the vie- j torious males. Now, these battles cause sad , havoo to the fields and orchards of the | country, and often prove a positive danger i to the people ; for, though monkeys seldom \ attack men, woe to the luckless one who j ventures to come near them in their deadly i struggle. Moreover, when pressed by hun- j ger these packs are not to be trifled with. J You may not mind even the damage done to j your orchard by hundreds of monkeys gobbl- ] ing up everything they could lay their hands \ on ; but it is quite a different matter when you have to slmt your doors and windows, and stay in for days at a time, because of I the army outside. Consequently the object of the natives is . to break up these packs by capturing their j leaders. Killing is against the dictates of J conscience, but capture is not, especially as j the monkey is liberated in a short time, as j will appear presently. So when a pack is • about the natives employ the following j method. Close to an orchard a bit of level i space is selected, and a hole dug in it, about 2ft deep and 6in or Bin in diameter. A noose is made at one end of a long stout cord, and placed over the mouth of the hole. The , cord is then passed through a pulley or ring ! attached to a tree close to the house, and the ; other end held some distance away by a ' concealed person. The noose and about 10ft or 15ft of the cord are covered over with sand. Then a nice tempting banana is placed in the hole, and a number of rotten ones — covered, however, with fresh skins — are strewn all over the ground near the hole. When the pack comes, the females are too | shy to venture out into the open space near the house. But .the big gotha is a brave I fellow. He sees the bananas on the ground, leaps down, takes up one — throws it away in disgust. Then another — with the same result. Suddenly he notices the nice tempt- [ ing one in the hole and plunges his crm in — immediately the cord is pulled, the noose j fastened on the arm close to the shoulder, ; and the monkey dragged willy-nilly to the j tree where the pulley, or ring, is attached. Then the hiding shikari comes forth, and, circling round and round the tree with the j cord hold tight in his hand, binds the unfor- | lunate monkey safe and fast, all but his j head. The pulley or ring is introduced not merely to bind the monkey to the tree, but also because it would be highly dangerous to drag the infuriated brute right up to a person. The monkey, however, is not killed. Instead, they lather his head and face, no | special care being taken in selecting the finest ' soap or the purest water. The operation is | an interesting one, and a souice of great {unusement — to the by&tandeis. The monkey, however, dodges his head about, only to get a good dose of soap into his eyes and mouth. Then he has enoxigh of it, J especially as he feels dreadfully achy all ' oA r er, and the cords cutting into his body ' every mch — to say nothing of the personal ' remarks and the highly adjectival language

of the bystanders. He submits to his fate ■with Eastern stoicism. His head is shaved clean as a billiard ball, and the face as well, nice and smooth like a baby's. Then they let him go. But, alas ! such is the vanity of life ! His wives will not have him now that his beauty is gone ! They disown him completely ; cut him dead. " Kay. they drive him away from the pack with contumely, with the end of their tails — in the absence of domestic broomsticks. And thus, being without a leader, the pack- is soon broken up. — Extract from "Tricky Traps," by A. Saw Lhkumar Ghosh, in V ? Strand Magazine.