{ 7}In reply to inquiries about the present condition of the Barbary Apes (_Macacus inuus_) on the Rock, Dr. Sclater records in 1893 that General Sir Lothian Bell, the Governor of Gibraltar, had informed him "that they were now distinctly increasing in numbers. He had himself counted as many as thirty in one group, and, according to some reports, there were altogether as many as double that number on the Rock. In fact they were so numerous, and their depredations had become so serious that a short time ago an agitation had been got up for their reduction in numbers, and it would perhaps be necessary to thin them a little, but their extermination was quite out of the question, and would not be thought of."
These animals are remarkably affectionate parents, the mother constantly tending her single young one, while the males may often be seen carrying about some of the babies of the troop. When young the "Rock Ape" is playful and gentle; but, when old, becomes ill-natured and vicious.
When angry their jaws are moved up and down with great rapidity, while they give utterance to loud and harsh cries. The males fight with their strong canine teeth and their long and strong, though flat, nails, with which they are capable of inflicting deep wounds on each other. When in a good temper their voice is generally soft; but Mr. Darwin observed in the Zoological Gardens that a specimen there, when pleased, made a shrill note, and likewise drew back the corners of its mouth, apparently through the contraction of the same muscles as with human beings. The skin of the lower eyelids also became much wrinkled. "At the same time it rapidly moved its lower jaw or lips in a spasmodic manner, the teeth being exposed; but the noise produced was hardly more distinct than that which we call silent laughter. Two of the keepers affirmed that this { 8}slight sound was the animal's laughter, and when I expressed some doubt on this head (being at the time quite inexperienced) they made it attack, or rather threaten, a hated _Entellus_ Monkey, living in the same compartment. Instantly the whole expression of the face of the _Inuus_ changed; the mouth was opened much more widely, the canine teeth were more fully exposed, and a hoarse barking noise was uttered."