Poldark Saga - Winston Graham discussion

What is Butto?

He's described initially as a monkey and later as an ape.

Book 2, Chapter 7

"'You've a fine selection of the county here, Cousin, I must say. I nearly brought Butto.'
'Butto?'
'My pet monkey. Got him off a lascar* in Falmouth Dock a few weeks ago. Twas lonely without Selina, don't you know!' He snorted with laughter. 'Nice cuddly thing. Though not so little and not so cuddly now--he grows apace! My friends make much of him--spoil him rather.'
'A monkey,' said someone.
'That's a trifle queer. What sort of a monkey?'
'Damned if I know. Biggish. Scares the women.'"

*Lascar-- a sailor or militiaman from the Indian Subcontinent
...
"'Nick Waldegrave kept a long-tailed monkey--not at all like Butto, I must say! Well, it all adds to the fun!'"

There is no description of him having a tail, and I assume from the context above that he was tailless.

Chapter 8

"Valentine had looked in and seen a group of boys aiming stones at a small fat ape, while its presumed owner danced round behind his barrel organ crying for them to stop.
...
"'Butto, Butto, 'e is my own animal. I bring 'im from the jungle.'"

At first I thought the implication of the ape brought from the jungle by someone from India was that the ape was also from India. Unfortunately, there are no apes in India the size of Butto.

The best physical description of Butto is this section:

Book 3, Chapter 3

"It was a large ape standing part on his hind legs. It was at least four feet tall, with a great cannonball of a head, flattened nose, deep bloodshot eyes, a mat of black hair on its chest and down the outside of its enormous arms. In one hand it carried what looked like a loaf of bread. When it saw Ross it coughed, then barked like a dog and bared its great teeth."
...
"It raised itself suddenly to its full height, then beat its breast in a fearful roar. It tugged violently at the slate headstone and this time the slate snapped."
"...
'He's not a great climber' he said conversationally to Geoffrey Charles, 'but of course he gets around!'"

The only apes that could be that tall are gorillas, orangutans, and chimpanzees. We can exclude orangutan from the list of possibilities because the hair color is wrong--so Butto is either a gorilla or a chimp.

Which do you think Butto is, gorilla or chimp? Or have I overlooked an alternative species?

Book 3, Chapter 1

"'When he was brought here some months ago he had seemed a frightened thing, chattering, scratching, jumping about, up to all sorts of mischief, but no one really so much minded.'"
...
"'mornings you could hear him barking, thumping the walls, and then screaming and coughing just as if he was being tormented.'"

Sounds of chimpanzees and gorillas below

Gombe Chimpanzees > Activities > Vocal Communication

gorilla talk

Gorilla Sounds

I think he's a chimp. He's too enterprising to be a gorilla, and I think his behavior is more consistent with being a chimpanzee.

I thought Gorilla at first but the more description given I thought large male chimpanzee.