Since last Bank Holiday a new attraction has been added in the form of a large monkey hill. It was an immense success with the crowds. The hill, which is situated at the back of the Mappin Terraces, takes - the form of a rocky prominence about 50 ft in height, surrounded by a deep ditch which separates the inmates from the visitors, and on this rocky structure about 100 large sacred baboons from Abyssinia have been turned, loose. The hill is not only picturesque, but is the last thing in comfort from the monkeys' point of view, being provided with heated caves, into which the animals can retire on cold days, and which, during the dull weather will be illuminated with special "sunlight" lamps generating ultra-violet rays. In the old days the monkeys in the zoo were kept in heated cages, and as a result died of tuberculosis and rickets. For some time past those in the Regent Park menagerie have been given access to the open air in winter as well as in summer, with extremely satisfactory results. The new conditions approximate to the ideal. Artificial sunlight, which has been recently used with such success on sickly children, is also being installed in an experimental monkey house which is nearing cornpletion, and it is the hope of the zoo authorities eventually to provide it in most of the houses in the gardens.
Chivalry Among Baboons
At first male monkeys only were introduced on the hill, as it was feared that the presence of females would lead to strife. It was decided, however, later to include a few females and some young, and this was done at the end of last week, not without a certain amount of anxiety. Fortunately, no untoward incident took place, the females, with their offspring, being in fact given a hearty welcome and taken charge of by the largest male baboons, who were particularly kind to the babies, the little monkeys being taken up into the arms of their adopted fathers and nursed somewhat against their wills.
