ORANGS. 49 



menagerie that belonged to the Prince of Orange ; and this example was in that 

 year described and depicted by a naturalist named Vosmaer. Subsequentlj' to this 

 the identity of Wurmb's pongo with the orang was fully demonstrated ; and from 

 that period our knowledge of the structui-e and habits of this ape has gradually 

 increased. Among those who liave especially contributed to advance our know- 

 k'dge of the orang in its living condition we may mention " Raja " Sir James 

 Brooke, of Borneo, and Mr. A. R. Wallace, the latter of whom has given us such 

 graphic accounts of the ci-eature's habits, in his fascinating work, the Malay 

 Archipelago. 



In the uncongenial climate of Europe, orangs are as difficult to keep for anjr 

 lengthened period in confinement as are the large Man-like Apes of Western Africa. 

 The case is, however, very ditierent in the moist subtropical climate of Calcutta, 

 where adult orangs have thriven well in cages exposed to the open air, and have 

 taught us many facts in relation to their habits. 



The leading or, as zoologists say, generic characters distinguish- 

 ' ing the orang from the chimpanzee and gorilla are to be founil in tlie 

 proportionately greater length of the arms — which in the upright position reach to 

 the ankles — in the form of the skull — which is elevated almost into a point at the 

 summit — as well as in a difference in the number of the joints in the backbone and 

 of bones in the wrist Thus there are sixteen (instead of seventeen) vertebrfe in 

 the backbone between the neck and the sacrum ; twelve of these carrying ribs, as 

 in man. In regard to the number of bones in the wrist, we find that the orang 

 pos.sesses the central bone which is wanting in man, the chimpanzee, and the 

 goi-illa ; and tlius has nine, in place of eight, bones in tlie wrist. In this respect the 

 Bornean ape agi-ees with tlie lower members of its order ; liut in the absence of 

 callosities on the buttocks it shows its kinship with the gorilla and chimpanzee. 



All these characteristic features cleai-ly indicate that the orang is decidedly 

 lower in the scale than the two Man-like Apes of which we have already treated ; 

 liut before going further we must examine more closely into its structure and 

 appearance. 



An adult male orang stands about 4 feet 4 inches in height 

 when in an upright position, in which posture it can almost touch the 

 ground with its fingei-s. The legs are extremely short and thick, and are twisted 

 in such a remarkable manner that the knees are turned outwards, and the feet 

 consequently set veiy obliquely to the line of the leg. From the peculiar structure 

 of its legs and feet the orang walks entirely on the outer sides of its feet, of which 

 the soles are turned inwards, so as to almost face one another. Although this 

 arrangement is ill-adapted for walking rapidly on the ground, it is one admirably 

 suited for climbing, in which these animals excel. 



As shown in our illustration of the adult, the orang has a tall, elevated forehead, 

 very difierent from the retreating one of the chimpanzee ; and the whole aspect of 

 the face is curiously flattened, with an oval contour. Not unfrequently there is a 

 well-marked prominence in the middle of the forehead. Although tliere are slight 

 ridges over the eyes, these are much less developed than in the cliimpanzee, and 

 have, therefore, no sort of resemblance to the enonnous ones of the gorilla. The 



VOL. I. — 4 



