52 THE MAX-LIKE APES. i 



ward, unlike the other apes, which run more or 

 less obliquely; except the Gibbons, who in these 

 as in so many other respects, depart remarkably 

 from their fellows. 



The Orang cannot put its feet flat on the 

 ground, but is supported upon their outer edges, 

 the heel resting more on the ground, while the 

 curved toes partly rest upon the ground by the 

 upper side of their first joint, the two outermost 

 toes of each foot completely resting on this surface. 

 The hands are held in the opposite manner, their 

 inner edges serving as the chief support. The fin- 

 gers are then bent out in such a manner that their 

 foremost joints, especially those of the two inner- 

 most fingers, rest upon the ground by their upper 

 sides, while the point of the free and straight 

 thumb serves as an additional fulcrum. 



The Orang never stands on its hind legs, and 

 all the pictures, representing it as so doing, are 

 as false as the assertion that it defends itself with 

 sticks, and the like. 



The long arms are of especial use, not only in 

 climbing, but in the gathering of food from 

 boughs to which the animal could not trust his 

 weight. Figs, blossoms, and young leaves of vari- 

 ous kinds, constitute the chief nutriment of the 

 Orang; but strips of bamboo two or three feet long 

 were found in the stomach of a male. They are 

 not known to eat living animals. 



Although, when taken young, the Orang-Utan 



