THE ORANG-OUTANG 49 



As we have said, orangs appear to be confined to the great islands 



ograp *? a of Borneo and Sumatra : and there has been considerable discussion as 

 Distribution 



to whether there is more than one species. It was once thought 



that the large orang of Sumatra was specifically distinct from that of Borneo, and it 

 accordingly received a separate scientific name. Later investigations indicate, how- 

 ever, that this is not the case, and that 5". satyrus is common to both islands, al- 

 though individuals vary considerably in their color ; and Dr. John Anderson is of 

 opinion that a dark and a pale race may be distinguished, the latter being devoid of 

 the warty callosities on the sides of the face of the males. The Dyaks of Borneo, by 

 whom the orang is generally designated the Mias, appear to be fully acquainted with 

 these .two races, calling the one provided with cheek excrescences the Mias pappan, 

 and the one without these appendages the M. rambi. 



In addition to these two varieties of the true large orang, the Dyaks recognize a 

 third kind, which they distinguish as the M. kassir. These animals are much 

 smaller than the true orang, and never have the excrescences on the cheeks. A 

 young individual of this orang was described many years ago by Sir Richard Owen 

 as Simia morio. An orang which lived a short time in the London Zoological So- 

 ciety's Gardens was at first considered to be an adult of this form, and to prove its 

 right to be regarded as a distinct species. The orang in question was presented to the 

 Zoological Society, in whose Gardens it was received during the spring of 1891, by 

 Commander E. Rason, R.N., who wrote to Mr. P. L. Sclater, stating that he ob- 

 tained the animal at Kuching, near Sarawak, in Borneo, from some natives, who 

 brought it to him slung on a pole. "At first it was extremely savage, and tried to 

 bite, but soon became comparatively tame, and after a week would allow itself to be 

 carried about and made a pet of. After three months' time, ' George,' " as Com- 

 mander Rason called his pet, " does not seem to have grown in height at all, and, 

 judging by the look of his teeth, must be about ten years old ; but, having had 

 plenty to eat and but little exercise, has grown much fatter." On the death of this 

 animal, it was found, however, that its age was much less than had been supposed, 

 all the milk-teeth being still in place. Although the shape of its head was decid- 

 edly larger than in the ordinary orang, this specimen does not appear to indicate 

 decisively that the lesser orang is a distinct species. 



Orangs are stated to be much more numerous in Borneo than in 

 Sumatra ; and, since dense, low-lying forests are essential to their ex- 

 istence, they are not found in the neighborhood of Sarawak, where the ground is 

 hilly. The unbroken, large areas of primeval forests, occurring in many parts of 

 Borneo, are the true home of the orangs ; such forests, according to Mr. Wallace, 

 being like open ground to these apes, since they can travel in every direction from 

 tree to tree, as easily as the North American Indian traverses his native prairie. In 

 all their movements these apes are slow and deliberate ; this being especially notice- 

 able with the perfectly healthy adults which have been exhibited in the Zoological 

 Gardens at Calcutta, where they enjoyed a climate not unlike their own. This de- 

 liberation in their movements is noticeable in Mr. Wallace's description of the man- 

 ner in which orangs travel through the forest when undisturbed and at ease. We 

 are told that they proceed with great circumspection along the larger branches of 

 4 



