A genus of Quadrumana, which comprises a large, fierce, and formidable race of animals, who, though they in a slight degree partake of the human conformation, like the Ourang Outan, &c., are in their dispositions and habits the very reverse of gentleness and docility. The Baboons are the ugliest of all the Quadrumana. Their eyes are small, and sunk underneath their eyebrows. Their forehead is low, and the development of the snout and face is enormously disproportioned to the size of the skull. Their great strength and fierce disposition make them very much dreaded in the countries they inhabit. Baboons differ from the apes on the one hand, and the monkeys on the other, by having short tails.
The Common Baboon is of a sandy colour, with a reddish shade on the shoulders, head, and back. It is playful and good-tempered when young, but becomes morose and savage with age. Buffon thus describes a full-grown specimen he saw:—“It was not altogether hideous, and yet it excited horror. It seemed to be always in a state of savage ferocity, grinding its teeth, perpetually restless, and agitated by unprovoked fury. It was a stout-built animal, whose nervous limbs and compressed form indicated great force and agility; and, though the length and thickness of its shaggy coat made it appear much larger than it really was, it was so strong and active that it might easily have repelled the attacks of several unarmed men.”
The Cape Baboon, or Chacura (Cynocephalus porcarius), is as big as a large mastiff, covered with hair of an olive-black colour on the back, and with paler hair beneath. He has a canine face; the snout resembles that of a hog, and the nails are flat, but sharp and very strong. It is said that he follows goats and sheep in order to drink their milk; he partakes of human dexterity in getting the kernels out of nuts, and loves to be covered with garments; he stands upright, and imitates with ease many human actions. The cunning of these animals is well exemplified in their mode of plunder. They form long lines, extending from their retreat to the object in view, and then pitch the produce of their theft from hand to hand till it is secure.
The Mandrill is the largest kind of Baboon, being nearly five feet high when it stands upright. It is distinguished from other Baboons by having a large protuberance on either cheek, which is marked with numerous red, blue, and purple stripes.
“Those which have been observed in a domestic state are generally remarked to have had a strong taste for fermented and spirituous liquors. A remarkably fine individual which was long kept at Exeter Change, and afterwards at the Surrey Zoological Gardens, drank his pot of porter daily, and evidently enjoyed it; it was a most amusing sight to see him seated in his little armchair with his quart pot beside him, and smoking his short pipe with all the gravity and perseverance of a Dutchman. In a state of nature his great strength and malicious character render the Mandrill a truly formidable animal. As they generally march in large bands they prove more than a match for the other inhabitants of the forest. The inhabitants themselves are afraid to pass through the woods unless in large companies and well armed.”
