Mr Grant's account of an Orang-Outang from Borneo. 13 



When standing upright, it is not easy to determine what is 

 the exact length of the orang's arms ; but I believe I am not 

 far wrong when I state that the tips of his fingers nearly touch 

 his ancles. He is far from being insensible to the temperature 

 of the atmosphere. He likes to bask in the mild rays of the 

 morning sun, but when they begin to become more powerful 

 he retires into the shade of a tree or wall. Of late, as the 

 weather has got colder, he appears to cherish his blanket and 

 his straw more and more. Indeed, from all I have heard, the 

 orang-outang, notwithstanding his hairy covering, seems ill 

 adapted to bear extremes of heat or cold, especially of the 

 latter. 



This leads me to suppose, that in the wild state the orang- 

 outang depends upon a less precarious residence than the 

 branch of a tree. It is not improbable, therefore, that he may 

 choose for his habitation some sheltered nooks of the forest, 

 caverns, and hollow trees. In such retired places the females 

 probably bring forth and nurture their young ; and it is not 

 inconsistent with what we know of the sagacious habits of 

 the animal, that in such retreats they may also lay up stores 

 of food. 



It is obvious at a glance of the orang-outang that his pro- 

 per locale is the forest. Nature has formed him more for a 

 climbing than a walking animal. But notwithstanding the 

 awkwardness of his gait in advancing on a flat surface, I am 

 inclined to believe that he proceeds more habitually in the 

 erect position than is generally imagined. Where absolute 

 evidence cannot be produced we may sometimes lean to tradi- 

 tion ; and unless there were some foundation for it, I can 

 hardly imagine that the belief which prevails on this point with 

 a number of persons, Europeans and natives, whom I have 

 spoken to on the subject, would be so general as it is. One 

 cause of this belief, however, is not at all unlikely to arise from 

 the orang being confounded with the long-armed Gibbon 

 (from Borneo also) who can walk upright with more ease it 

 would seem than the orang-outang. From all I have been 

 able to learn, the natives of the eastern islands themselves as- 

 sume it as an undoubted fact, that these animals are accustom- 

 ed to walk in the erect posture. I consider the following pas- 



