THE ORANG-UTANS. I 75 



the arms the hair grows towards the elbow, as on the fore-arm, 

 both meeting in a point at the elbow. 



Between childhood and middle age the skin varies in colour 

 from dark yellowish in the younger individuals to blackish- 

 brown, or black, in the adults (the latter colour largely pre- 

 dominating). Very often the face and neck are almost or 

 quite black, the palms light brown, and the breast and abdomen 

 mulatto-yellow. {Honiaday.) 



In size also the Orang varies greatly ; the males being larger 

 than the females. The largest male shot by Wallace measured 

 4 feet 2 inches. Hornaday, however, shot several exceeding 

 4 feet 4 inches, his tallest being 4 feet 6 inches, and one male 

 was 3 feet 10^ inches; while his largest female measured 4 

 feet, and the smallest adult female 3 feet 6 inches. The 

 breadth across the face in males varies from 11^ to 13^ 

 inches, and in females 5}^ to 6 inches. The young at birth is 

 large in comparison with the size of the female. A male 

 weighs often from 120 to 160 lbs. 



Distribution. — The Orang-utan is confined to the islands of 

 Borneo and Sumatra, in the East Indian Archipelago. In 

 Sumatra it is far less common than in Borneo, and is found 

 on the lowlands of the eastern coast, in the Palembang Resi- 

 dency, and the Djambi Sultanate. As far as I could ascer- 

 tain, the natives of the southern portion of Palembang and of 

 the Lampongs were quite ignorant of the animal, except as a 

 name. In Borneo it inhabits the low forest-covered swamp- 

 lands between the coast and the interior mountains, from the 

 north of the island, round the west, southern, and eastern 

 coasts, as far as the Mahakkam river, if not round the entire 

 coast, as is most likely. In the dry seasjn they retire into the 



