486 THE HIGHER ANTHROPOIDS 



They have no particuhir fear of man and only retreat slowly after a con- 

 siderable period of scrutinizing inspection. The\ do not manifest so much of 

 the gregarious tendency as do the other large apes. Two full-grow n animals 

 are seldom seen together, but males and females are sometimes accompanied 

 by half-grown young ones. At other limes three or four young animals are 

 seen together. Their food consists almost e\elusi\ely ot fruits, leaves, buds 

 and young shoots. They seem to prefer the unrii:)e Iruit even when 

 very sour or intensely bitter, the red lleshy arillus being a particular favorite. 

 The orang rarel\- descends to the ground except when pressed by hunger, 

 when it seeks the succulent shoots at the riverside-. In \ery dry weather it 

 also comes down from the trees in quest of water of which it generally finds 

 sufficient In the hollow of the leaves. The\' have been seen upon the ground 

 playing together, at which times thc\ assume the erect posture and grasp 

 each other with tluir arms." 



Wallace believes that it is safe to say that the orang never stands or 

 walks erect unless when using its hands to support itseli b\ the branches 

 overhead or when attacked; and that the representations of its walking with 

 a stick are c[uite unaginary. 



The account given by \\'allace of his expt-rience with a young orang 

 whose mother had been killed the preceding day is interesting because of the 

 many human resemblances it records. For example, the great prehensile 

 strength of this almost helpless orang-outang infant, in hands and feet, was 

 quickly demonstrated 1)\- the tenaclt\- with which the t'xplorer's beard was 

 grasped and retained. It was both a prolonged and palnlul ordeal to get away 

 from the clinging young one. The animal had not a single tooth, but soon Its 

 milk teeth began to appear much like a human Infant. The lack of milk on 

 the island served as a great embarrassment In feeding the young ape, but 

 when the linger was placed in Its mouth it sucked w Ith great \ Igor, draw uig 

 in Its cheeks with all its mii!;ht In a \aln ellort to extract milk. Only alti'r 



