148 



ORDER aUADRUMANA— GENUS PITHECUS. 



Orang is a word in the Malayan language signifying reasonable 

 creature, and applied equally to Man, the Orang-Outang, and the 

 Elephant. Outang [ov rather C/itow, according to Mr Marsden] 

 signifies wild, or belonging to the woods, and thus the earlier navi- 

 gators, translating these words, gave the animal the name of Man-of- 

 the- Woods. 



The Orang-Outang, of all animals, is the most similar to Man 

 in respect to the shape of its head, the size of the forehead, and the 

 volume of its brain. Yet the exaggerated expressions of some 

 writers on those points seem to originate in the circumstance that 

 only young individuals have been examined by them, and every 

 thing leads us to believe that their muzzle becomes more elongated 

 with advancing years. 



The body of the Orang-Outang is covered with thick red hair, 

 the face is blueish, and the thumbs of the hinder limbs are very 

 short in comparison to the remaining fingers. Its lips are suscepti- 

 ble of a singular elongation, and enjoy a great facility of motion. 



The fore-hands of the Orang-Outang are shaped exactlj' like those of 

 Man, excepting that the thumb is very short, reaching only to the first 

 joint of the index or first, finger. The hinder-hands have likewise five 

 fingers, but the thumb is placed much lower than in the human species, 

 and in its ordinary position, instead of lying parallel to the fingers, it forms 

 a right angle with them. The fingers of the hinder-hands have the same 

 structure as those of the fore-hand, and are equally free in their move- 

 ments, and all, without exception, have nails. The calves of the legs 

 as well as the buttocks are but slightly prominent. 



It is highly probable that the Orang-Outang has the same number of 

 teeth as Man ; yet this cannot be stated positively, until the adult has 

 been carefully examined. All the descriptions hitherto given of its 

 teeth apply merely to the milk or first teeth of the young animal. If it 

 be true that the Pongo is really the adult Orang-Outang, then they are 

 precisely of the same number as in the human species. In the upper jaw, 

 the first incisor is very broad and wedge-shaped ; the second terminates 

 likewise in a line, but its inner surface is inclined towards the first in- 

 cisor, by the action of the very large canine tooth next to it. This canine, 

 which is separated from the second incisor by a small interval, is very 

 long, strong, thick, and hollow beneath, from the action of the opposite 

 tooth. The first and second false molars are divided by a longitudinal 

 furrow into two portions, worn off obliquely, and presenting two blunt 

 tubercles, one on the inner margin, and the other on the outer. The 

 three real molars which follow are nearly of equal size, their crowns flat, 

 and apparently worn down by constant use. In the lower jaw, the two 

 incisors are equal in size, but the first terminates in a straight line, and the 

 second in an oblique one, beginning towards the first incisor, and ending 

 towards the canine. The latter is very strong, long, and sharp, yet some- 

 what less than the canine of the upper jaw, and its shape is rendered tri- 

 angular by an elevated crest on its internal surface, partly formed by the 

 action of the canine and of the first incisor of the opposite jaw. The 

 first false molar is cut off obliquely before and behind, forming a very thick 

 conical tubercle, presenting an oblique plane to the upper canfne, and 

 strongly supported, against which the animal can exercise great force in 

 cutting and tearing. The other molars resemble those of the upper jaw. 

 The neck of the Orang-Outang is very short ; the tongue smooth ; the 

 nose wholly flattened at the base, and on a level with the- rest of the face 

 at this part, but projecting slightly at its extremity ; the nostrils open be- 

 neath, as ui all other Apes of the Old Continent. The eyes resemble 

 those of other Apes ; the iris is brown, and the ears are exactly similar 

 to those of our own species ; the nails are black. 



Almost the whole body is covered with hair, which is darker and 

 thicker in some parts than in others. The colour of the skin is generally 

 a blueish slate ; but the ears, the circles around the eyes and mouth, and 

 the inside of all the four hands, tend towards a flesh copper-colour. The 

 hair of the head, fore-arm, and legs, is of a deeper red than elsewhere. 

 It is thickest on the bead, back, and upper part of the arm ; but very 

 scanty on the belly, and still more so on the face. The upper-lip, nose, 

 and palms of all the four hands, are the only parts entirely naked. The 

 hair of the whole body is rather woolly, and of the same nature through- 

 out; on the fore-arm it points upwards towards the elbow, while on the 

 upper-arm the points are directed downwards. The skin, especially that 

 of the face, is thick and shrivelled, while beneath the neck it hangs so 

 loosely as to appear hke a goitre, when the animal lies on its side. 



Camper discovered, and accurately described, the two mem- 

 braneous sacs which communicate with the ventricles of the glottis 

 of this animal, and render its voice hoarse ; but he was wrong in 

 stating that the nails are always wanting on the thumbs of the 

 hinder hands. 



The Orang-Outang is entirely formed for climbing and residing in trees, 

 as it walks with great difliculty. When ascending a tree, it seizes the 

 trunk by all the four hands, and uses neither arms nor thighs as a Man 

 would do in similar circumstances. It passes easily from tree to tree, 

 when the branches touch, so that in its native tropical forests there 

 can be but little occasion to come near the ground. In general, all its 

 movements are slow, and seem to be executed with pain, when performed 

 on a flat surface. It first rests the fore-hands firmly on the ground, raises 

 itself on its long arms, and throws the body forwards by passing the hinder- 

 hands between the arms, and carrying them beyond the fore-hands ; then, 

 resting on its hinder-hands, it advances the upper part of the body, sup- 

 ports itself again upon the wrists of the fore-arm, and repeats the same 

 movements. It is only when supported by its fore-hand that it ventures 

 to walk on the hinder-hands ; sometimes it rests upon the palms, but most 

 usually upon their external margins only, as though it wished to preserve 

 the fingers from all contact with the ground. Whenever it ventures to 

 rest upon the entire palm,. it holds the last two phalanges of the fingers 

 curved up, excepting the thumb, which remains open and at a distance. 

 When resting, it sits down on the thighs, with the legs crossed, according 

 to the Oriental custom. It reposes indiscriminately on the back or the 

 sides, drawing up the legs towards the body and crossing the arms on the 

 breast. When about to sleep, it is fond of being well covered, and for 

 this purpose makes use of every kind of clothing placed within its reach. '1 



When young, such only as it has hitherto been seen in Europe, 

 it is rather a gentle animal, easily tamed, and readily becoming 

 attached. From its conformation it is capable of imitating a great 

 number of our actions ; but its intelligence does not appear to hold 

 so high a rank as has been reported, or even much to surpass that 

 of the Dog. 



The Orang-Outang makes use of its fore-hands in the same manner in 

 general as we do, and it seems only to require experience to be able to 

 do so in nearly all instances. It often raises its food to the mouth by 

 means of its fingers, but sometimes also seizes them with its long lips, and 

 drinks by sucking up, as all animals with long lips usually do. It makes 

 use of the sense of smell to distinguish the nature of its food, and seems 

 to trust greatly to this sense on all occasions. Fruit, pulse, eggs, milk, 

 and meat, are eaten by the Orang-Outang indiscriminately. It is very 

 fond of bread, coffee, and oranges, and on one occasion swallowed the con- 

 tents of an inkstand without experiencing any injury. It seems>to have 

 no stated hour for its meals, but, like a child, is ready for its food at 

 all times. Both the sense of sight and that of hearing are very acute. 

 Music produces no effect upon this animal. 



When molested, the Orang-Outang strikes its opponent with the hand, 

 and attempts to bite ; but these actions appear in general to proceed ra- 

 ther from impatience than ill-nature, as it is commonly mild, affectionate, 

 and very fond of society. It delights in being caressed; gives real kisses 

 to the object of its attachment ; and seems fond of sucking the fingers of 

 the persons who approach, yet it never sucks its own. Whenever it is 

 very anxious for anything, its cry is sharp. and guttural. Then all its 

 signs are very expressive : it inclines the bead- forward to show its disap- 

 probation ; pouts when its wants are not immediately satisfied; and when 

 in a passion, cries out very loudly, rolhng itself on the ground, and its 

 neck, at the same time, swelling out in a singular manner. 



The history of the- Orang-Outang has been rendered very obscure 

 by the earlier authors, from its having been confounded with the 

 remainder of the larger Apes, and especially with the Chimpansee. 

 After submitting their writings to a severe criticism, it has been 

 found that the Orang-Outang inhabits only the most eastern portions 

 of the Old World — such as Malacca and Cochin-China,and especially 

 the great island of Borneo, whence it has been transported, though 

 rarely, to Java. 



There is so strong a resemblance between the Orang-Outang 

 and an Ape of Borneo, which is yet only known by its skeleton, 

 and by the name of Pongo,' in the proportions of all its parts and 

 the disposition of the fossfe and sutures of its skull, that we can 



' Audeb. Singes, pi. anat. IT. — This name of Pongo, corrupted from that of Boffpo, vrhich is given in Africa to the Ch-mpan^ee and Jlandrill, was applied by Buffon 

 to a pretended large species of Orang-Outang, which was nothing more than the product of his own imagination. Wurmb, a naturalist of Batavia, applied it to the animal, 

 described by him for the first time, of vfhich BufFon had not the smallest idea (See the Memoirs of the Batavian Society, torn. ii. p. 245). The idea that it might be nothing 

 more than the adult Orang-Outang occurred to me on seeing the head of a common Orang, with its muzzle projecting much more forward than that of the young mdividuals 



hitherto described, and I made my views public in a Memoir read at the Acadcmie dcs Sciences in 1818 MRI. Tilesius and Rudolphi appear also to have made the same 



conjecture. See the Memoirs of the Academy of Berlin for 1824, p. 131 Note of the Baron Cvvier. 



