156 



THE GENERAL ANATOMY OF GORILLA 



[sect, a 



The Chimpanzee and Gorilla remain. On purely morphological 

 grounds,, the Chimpanzee ranks second of the two. For the 

 moment, these grounds must determine the choice, and the Gorilla 

 will be selected as presenting an anatomical constitution indicative 

 that the arboreal habitat has been more completely abandoned 

 than in the other Simiidae. The conformation of the brain places 

 it above the Chimpanzee, even though the latter should seem 



Fig. 98. Head of a large male Orang-utan. The physiognomy is to be 

 compared with that of the Gorilla (Fig. 99). (From a specimen presented to the 

 Cambridge Collection by Dr C. Hose.) 



more tolerant of captivity and more capable of domestication or 

 even education 1 . 



The Gorilla is an inhabitant of tropical Africa, and though it 

 is not exclusively arboreal, yet the younger and smaller individuals 



1 Though less amiable the Gorilla may be possibly as intelligent as the 

 Chimpanzee : a young specimen (Mus. Anat. Cant. H) lived for a few weeks in 

 captivity, and shewed itself to be as docile and tractable as a Chimpanzee. Similar 

 observations have been made in Africa. No adult male Gorilla has yet been 

 captured alive. It is also noteworthy that young Gorillas and Chimpanzees alike 

 are extremely liable to disease in captivity even if kept in their natural geographical 

 situation in West Africa. 



