48o THE HIGHER ANTHROPOIDS 



arc short in comparison with tlic length ol the b()cl> and considerably bowed. 

 The feet arc long and narrow. The <i;reat toe is short but opposable. Ischial 

 callosities are sometimes |)resent in the male adult, bnt tiie tail is absent. 

 The body is covered w itli a light brownish hair ot considerable length, unlike 

 tlu' hair of the two other great anthropoids, \\ hieh is darkish. The contrast 

 makes the orang appear light-colored in coni|)arison with the gorilla and 

 chimpanzee. Concerning the height of the orang, \\ allace believes that it 

 seldom exceeds four leet two inches, and is on the average about lour feet 

 one inch. The outstretched arms measure se\XMi ieet two inches to seven 

 feet eight inches. Wallace discounts the repi)rt of an orang which approaches 

 in any way near to the stature ol the gorilla, although statements to the 

 effect that certain ca])tured specimens haw measured li\e leet three inches 

 have been made ljy se\eral traxelers. The iigures given b\ \\ allace coincide 

 \\ith those ol the majority ol observers and may, thcrelore, be accepted 

 as the most accurate measurements. 



The Dyaks, inhabiting the Island of Borneo, believe that the orang 

 ^\hich they call "mias" is possessed of prodigious strength and for this reason 

 is seldom, if ever, attacked by other animals of the forest. It really seems 

 to have no enemies because (jf its ow n great olfensive ]iower, and only two 

 of the great reptiles e\en presume to attack it the crocodile and the python. 

 The orang always succeeds in killing the crocodile b\- main strength, stand- 

 ing upon its back and opening its jaws until he is al)le to rip out its throat. 

 If attacked by the python, tin' orang seizes the reptile with both hands, 

 squeezing it with such force and biting it so ferociously that the outcome of 

 the combat is soon decided in laxor of the anthropoid. 



w.\ll.\ce's .accounts of the orang-olt.wg 



The following abstracts are taken from Wallace's interesting account of 

 the orang-outang which appears in his famous "Malax Archipelago": 



