THE ORANG-UTAN 11 



character being quiet and self-contained compared with that of the 

 Chimpanzee ; the adult, however, has a grunting note. It has long 

 been known in captivity, and in my time was often brought to Cal- 

 cutta, as it had been long previously, being a great object of interest 

 to the natives of Bengal, who call it " Bun manus " jungle man, almost 

 the same name as the Malay " Orang-utan " wild man. I have, indeed, 

 been asked by a native woman at the Calcutta Zoo whether an Orang 

 she and her husband were looking at was not a man, just as I have 

 heard a little child hail Mickey, the Chimpanzee at the London Zoo, 

 as " boy." The Dyak name of the animal is " Mias." 



Even in the East, the Orang is a delicate animal in confinement, 

 and it is, now at all events, less often to be met with in captivity than 

 the Chimpanzee in Europe. It is a much less energetic and lively 

 creature than that species, and this is, no doubt, one reason why it is 

 not so easy to keep. It is also more sensitive ; when disappointed in 

 anything as when food is offered and not given, or when its keeper 

 leaves it, or it is put back into a cage after being out it will often 

 roll about on the floor and scream with passion. There is, however, 

 something very attractive about this animal, with its quiet, gentle ways, 

 and humorous intellectual expression ; and it is undoubtedly capable 

 of great attachment to its own kind, as was shown many years ago in 

 the case of three specimens, a male, a female, and a young one, which 

 were allowed liberty in India. 



After some time the female fell ill and died, and her two companions 

 showed the most touching grief; the young one wished to follow the 

 body as it was carried away, and when prevented showed its vexation 

 in the manner described above. The sorrow of the male, although 

 they had never been very intimate, was deeper : he mounted to the 

 top of their house, and remained for days gazing fixedly in the direc- 

 tion in which he had seen the corpse of his companion taken away. 

 Ultimately he came down dizzy and staggering with sunstroke, and 

 before long he died also. 



A good-sized female in the Calcutta Zoo in my time was very 

 friendly with me, and would affectionately put her arm round my neck 



