456 THE MAMMALS 



be mistaken for a bewhiskered old man. In the old days, many a person 

 paid good money at the circus to see the "wild man of Borneo," which 

 was only an orangutan. In an upright position, however, the similarity 

 ceases ; the fingers almost touch the ground. Such long arms give them 

 a very comical appearance, but care must be taken at the zoo, for they 

 can reach through the bars of a cage for an unbelievably long distance. 

 They reach a height of about five feet and have a brain capacity of 

 500 cc. 



The chimpanzees, found widely distributed in Africa, attain a height 

 of about five feet, and have a brain capacity of 500 cc. They are tamed 

 easily and when young seem to enjoy human company, but the adults 

 seem to realize that people are just trying to "make a monkey" of them 

 and resent it. This makes the adults quite dangerous. Experiments 

 show that they have a reasoning power, for they will stack boxes in 

 order to secure food suspended out of reach. They can be taught to do 

 many simple tricks that make them a feature attraction at the zoo or cir- 

 cus. They can dress themselves, eat with a knife and fork, ride a bicycle, 

 waltz, and do acrobatics that put human efforts to shame. They are 

 among the most popular of the movie and TV actors because of their 

 great appeal to audiences of all ages. 



The gorillas are the largest of the primates. They grow to a height 

 of six feet and weigh up to 600 pounds. They have a ferocious appear- 

 ance and a disposition that goes with it. This, coupled with their great 

 strength and cunning, makes them among the most dangerous animals 

 to deal with. They have a brain capacity of 630 cc. Young gorillas 

 have been tamed, but no person is foolhardy enough to enter a cage wth 

 an adult. 



Gorillas can be found only in the highland regions of Africa today, 

 for those living in lower altitudes have been killed out. The hunter may 

 become the hunted in these regions, for the gorillas sometimes hide along 

 the trails and allow a group of people to file past and then grab the last 

 person in line. They seem to realize that it would not be good policy to 

 grab one in front, for the others would then be in position to attack. In 

 spite of their huge size and great strength, they are among the most dif- 

 ficult of animals to keep in captivity, for they are susceptible to the many 

 respiratory ailments that affect people. A circus kept two gorillas alive 

 for several years by keeping them in special air-conditioned cages with 

 the air filtered free of germs, but both died in spite of these precautions. 



Man is the most highly advanced of the primates. We have attained 

 a dominant place in the animal kingdom because of the high degree of 

 development of our cerebrum. Physically we are weaklings; a chim- 

 panzee, by actual measurement, has strength in his biceps several times 



