LIFE IN CAPTIVITY. 277 



yonng, was brought to him. The two animals 

 became at once the best of friends, neither showing 

 the least fear of the other. The small macaca had 

 not the slightest scruple about sitting on the other's 

 body, and even on its face. When Wallace fed the 

 orau^, the macaca sat by to pick up any morsels 

 which dropped, and when the meal was over it 

 licked off whatever remained on the orang's lips, 

 and even tore open its mouth to see if anything 

 remained there ; then it lay down on the poor crea- 

 ture's body as if it were a comfortable cushion. The 

 small, helpless orang endured all these insults with 

 the most unexampled patience, only too glad to 

 have something warm to cling to and encircle fondly 

 with its arms. But it had its revenge, for when the 

 other little ape wished to get away, the orang held 

 on as long as possible to the movable skin of the 

 back or head, or to its tail, so that it cost the macaca 

 many violent struggles to escape. 



Wallace carefully observed the different behaviour 

 of these two animals, which were of nearly the same 

 age. All the observations hitherto made show that 

 very young anthropoids display a helplessness re- 

 sembling that of children of about the same age, 

 although other families of apes, in common with most 

 young mammals, kittens, puppies, etc., early attain 

 to greater activity and independence. 



When Wallace had kept the orang for about a 

 month, and placed it on the ground, its legs strag- 

 gled outwards, or it overbalanced itself and fell 

 heavily forwards. When lying in its box, it would 

 hold on to the edge, and once or twice it fell out 

 13 



