18 APES AND MONKEYS 



record stood 4 feet 6 inches in height from heel to head, 

 measured 42 inches around the chest, and between finger-tips 

 stretched 8 feet. The old males develop a strange, flat ex- 

 pansion of the cheek, called "cheek callosities," 13 inches 

 across; but in young animals this is seldom developed. The 

 hand is 113^2 inches long, the foot 13K inches, but the width 

 of each across the palm is only 3% inches. The weight of a 

 large, full-grown male Orang is about 250 pounds. 



The black gorilla and chimpanzee both inhabit the land 

 of black men; the brown Orang-Utan lives only in Borneo 

 and Sumatra, the land of the brown-skinned Malay. The 

 latter prefers the belt of level, swampy forest near the coast, 

 lives wholly in the tree-tops, and rarely descends to the earth 

 except for water. Orangs travel by swinging underneath the 

 large branches with their long, muscular arms. Because of 

 their great weight, they cannot leap from tree to tree, as 

 monkeys do, but they swing with wonderful rapidity and 

 precision. They eat all kinds of wild fruit, fleshy leaves, and 

 the shoots of the screw pine. 



In proper hands, young Orang-Utans are very susceptible 

 to training. The New York Zoological Park maintains almost 

 constantly a collection of chimpanzees and Orangs, all of 

 which have been taught to wear clothes, sit in chairs at table, 

 eat with fork and spoon, drink from cups and bottles, and per- 

 form many other human-like actions without nervousness, in 

 the presence of two thousand visitors. Each of the Orangs 

 learns its part in about two weeks' training, and at the dinner- 

 table acts with gravity and decorum. 



In captivity, young Orang-Utans are as affectionate as 



