n8] Animals in the Wild 



THE BIG APES 



Gorillas Shy and Retiring: When you see the gorillas behind 

 the bars at the zoo, they impress you as fierce and vicious. Some- 

 times a gorilla acts that way as well spitting at its admiring 

 audience and carrying on as if trying to pull the cage apart. In 

 their natural surroundings, however, the disposition of these ani- 

 mals is quite different. While they may occasionally attack men 

 or animals in self-defense, they are by nature shy and retiring 

 and prefer to stay clear of trouble whenever possible. 



On their native grounds, gorillas roam about in small family 

 groups in search of the vegetables, roots and fruit on which they 

 feed. Though they can stand upright as humans do, and their 

 babies often walk that way, older gorillas always walk on all fours. 



Their great strength notwithstanding, gorillas like many wild 

 animals have rather frail health. In the wild state they are dis- 

 tressed by jungle-bred worms which bring on intestinal troubles; 

 in captivity gorillas are very susceptible to colds and pneumonia. 



Chimpanzees Intelligent and Comical: The chimpanzee is as 

 widely known for its intelligence as for its comical antics. It can 

 be taught all sorts of tricks and what is more impressive it often 

 shows actual reasoning powers. Like the gorillas, chimpanzees 

 dwell in Africa and they also live on fruit and vegetables. They 

 are, however, much smaller than gorillas. An adult male rarely 

 attains more than 175 pounds, while a gorilla may reach six 

 hundred or more. 



Chimps can walk upright but again like the gorillas they 

 usually travel on all fours with their hands curled into fists. 

 Though their hands resemble those of humans, chimpanzees lack 

 manipulative powers particularly in the thumbs. 



Orangutans Slow and Deliberate: "Man of the Woods" and 

 "Wild Man" are alternative renderings for the orangutan's Malay 

 name. This big ape of Borneo and Sumatra lives almost entirely 

 among leafy branches and, despite its bulk, swings with great 

 agility from one tree to another. Though it is capable of moving 

 speedily, it is usually slow and deliberate. A big male orang weighs 

 two hundred pounds or more. 



