_Simia porcaria_, Bodd., Naturf., xxii., p. 17, figs. 1, 2 (1787).
_Cynocephalus porcarius_ (Le Chacma), F. Cuv., Hist. Nat. Mamm., p. 132,
pl. 47 (? 1807); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 34 (1870).
_Papio comatus_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 103 (1812).
_Papio porcarius_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 102 (1812); Schl., Mus.
Pays Bas, vii., p. 124 (1876).
_Cynocephalus ursinus_, Schinz, Synops. Mamm., i., p. 64 (1844).
CHARACTERS.--Face and ears naked; muzzle protruding, the nose extending
beyond the upper lip; the hair of the body long and shaggy, lengthening on
the shoulders and the neck, but not forming a conspicuous mane; whiskers
small and directed backwards; tail slightly exceeding half the length of
the body, elevated at its base, and then descending perpendicularly;
callosities small; hands and feet naked. Sense of smell acute.
Skull flattened, the cranial portion smaller than the facial; ridges above
and at the sides of the close-set orbits very large; nasal bones long and
prominent; canine teeth very large and triangular.
General colour dark brown or nearly black, washed with green, especially on
the forehead, the hairs being grey at the base, then ringed alternately
with black and green; some of {264}them, however, lighter. Head, arms, and
legs black; face, hands, feet, and ears dark blue; a white ring encircling
each eye; upper eyelids white; whiskers grey.
FEMALE AND YOUNG MALE.--Similar to the adult male in wanting a conspicuous
mane; head rounder; nose less protuberant; cranial portion of skull less
conspicuously disproportionate to the facial portion.
DISTRIBUTION.--This species inhabits South Africa; and in the Cape Colony
it is found in large troops.
HABITS.--The Chacma, which is the largest of all the Baboons, lives, like
the others, in troops, consisting of nearly a hundred individuals. They
inhabit rocky places, and apparently prefer country broken into steep
cliffs and rocky crags, very often in the neighbourhood of the sea. The
Chacmas are very ferocious and dangerous, and in captivity, when fully
adult, extremely jealous, but when young they are said to be playful and
well-dispositioned. They are, moreover, very intelligent. Their sense of
smell, especially for hidden water-springs in dry and arid districts, is
said to be remarkable. "An animal," says Le Vaillant, in his "Travels in
Africa," "that rendered me more effectual services; which, by its useful
presence, suspended and even dissipated certain bitter and disagreeable
reflections that occurred to my mind; which, by its simple and striking
instinct, seemed to anticipate my efforts; and which comforted me in my
languor--was an Ape, of that kind so common at the Cape, under the name of
_Cawiars_. As it was extremely familiar, and attached itself to me in a
particular manner, I made it my taster. When we found any fruit or roots
unknown to my Hottentots, we never touched them until my dear Kees [the
Chacma] had first tasted them; if it refused them, we {265}judged them to
be either disagreeable or dangerous, and threw them away." The food of the
"Chacma," an Anglicised form of the Hottentot name for this Baboon,
consists of Lizards, Scorpions, Centipedes, and all manner of insects;
birds' eggs, gum, and honey are particularly relished by it. When these are
difficult to find, it searches for the bulbous roots of certain liliaceous
plants, of which it is very fond, and which it very ingeniously disinters.
As Le Vaillant has recorded of the same individual to which we have just
referred: "He laid hold of the tuft of leaves with his teeth, and pressing
his four paws firmly against the earth, and drawing his head backwards, the
root generally followed; when this method did not succeed, he seized the
tuft as before, as close to the earth as he could, then throwing his heels
over his head, the root always yielded to the jerk he gave it."