JUNGLE SOCIETY

Hokitika Guardian, 30 May 1931, Page 6

JUNGLE SOCIETY

ANIMAL SPEECH AND

MANNERS

JOT HIGH IN FU R AND FEATHER

That birds and animals have their own form of speech is no longer doubted by naturalists and scientists. The vocabularies of primitive aborigines, it lias 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 s]>e a k, laugh, cry. and give audible expression to their feelings,” declares Joseph l)elmont, the German big game hunter, and lie gives some remarkable instances of birds and animals which a<yt 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 tine landscape spread out before him. If he spies a human being in the distance he utters his hv no means unmeilodious cry, and all the animals of the forest which are accustomed to being limited by man immediately seek- a hiding place. When I say animal,s Ido not. mean mammals only. Many of the birds also recognise the signal, and fly into the denser parts of the forest.

BIRD WARNINGS. Buffaloes, rhinoceroses, hippopotami, and the great antelopes of the plains, he says, a re continuously being warned in this way by the large and small ox-pecker or rhinoceros-bird. These animals take no notice of the bird’s ordinary • cry,, but 'they hmmpdia.tely 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 thieir food in the crevices of the rhino’s hide, are watchful guards, ami betray the approaching enemy with loud screechings. They then leave the rhino’s back and flutter over him ill circles, uttering incessant cries of warning, and from time to time dropping on the lieUsCS head to warn, him with vigorous thrusts from their beaks; then rising again to indicate tile direction in which, the pachyderm is to escape. M CINKEY’ S 3M EETING S. In the forests of India, says Herr Belmont, the small monkeys hold meeting; which are virtually courts of justice. 'Pile elder ones preside and chatter in excited tones. Interruptions are heard from all ,sides, and if one of the interrupters is too persistent arid disturbs the peace it sometimes happens that one of the “officials’’ or a member of the audience wilj attack him; he will get a cuffing and have his ears bitten.

The only silent one is the prisoner, if you do not count a soft, frightened whimpering which lie sets up from time to time.

The officials do not give the accused any support. He must jsuffer 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 of death, and craftily looks round for a chance of escape. , If he succeeds in breaking through the ranks, the whole meeting sets up an tn.ngry howl. “Stop tjhjef!” is veiled from all sides, and they set off fn pursuit. The accused .is seldom fortunate enough to escape h ; s fate, his pursuers are so numerous.

JUNGLE CHIVALRY. 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 tins panic a bn,by gibbon fell from its mother’s body to which it was clinging in one of the trees. The mother, heedless of danger, climbed down to save her offspring. The boar at once attacked and wounded her. From the trees the hand of apes had watched the movements of the mother in horror, and when the boar made to renew his attack, a ll the grown gibbons, not as a rule regarded as courageous animals, da,shed down from the trees and rushed angrily upon the enemy.

In the ensuing struggle three apes lost their lives and a number were wounded. The rest, especially the females, due their teeth frantically into the racing boar, and finally forced him to take to his heels.