IN BORNEAN FORESTS [chap. 



It is not improbable that in many districts in Borneo the orang 

 has been driven away or exterminated by man, especially where 

 the deadly " sumpitan " is used; for it is so large an animal, and 

 so seldom attempts to fly when it is discovered, that it is easily 

 killed. It is never dangerous, except when wounded ; but then its 

 bites are very severe, quite capable of taking off the fingers of a 

 man's hand or inflicting other severe injuries. There would, too, 

 be small chance for a weaponless man who found himself in 

 the grip of the long and powerful arms. I have heard the story 

 told of a Dyak who was caught by an orang-utan, and who saved 

 himself by pretending to be dead. When irritated a Mayas 

 becomes furious ; its neck swells out from the distention of its great 

 laryngeal sacs, and it emits fearful howls. 



The Mayas has few enemies excepting man, being undoubtedly 

 the strongest animal in the forests of Borneo. Tales are told of 

 its fights with the bear, the crocodile, and the pj^thon, all of which 

 are vanquished by it and killed by its formidable bites. 



According to my hunter, Atzon, orang-utans are sometimes 

 attacked by ague, or some similar intermittent fever, and he 

 asserts that he has seen them shivering on their nests when the 

 temperature could not account for this. 



I have not ascertained how and when these animals drink. In 

 a country where rain is so frequent, it is very probable that they 

 do not take the trouble to descend from the trees to drink in a 

 neighbouring stream, but manage to obtain sufficient water from 

 the dripping leaves, using the highly extensible lower lip for this 

 purpose. 



It has been stated that, when wounded, a Mayas will endeavour 

 to stay the bleeding by applying its hand to the wound ; and 

 some have gone so far as to assert that it dresses the latter with 

 leaves. My experience does not bear this out ; but I have seen a 

 wounded orang examine its wound in a very human manner, and 

 even touch it with its fingers, apparently moved more by curiosity 

 than by anything else. 



Even the biggest orang-utans move freely on the branches of 

 trees, but if they have to pass overhead from one tree to another 

 they always try the branches beforehand, to make sure that they 

 can support their weight. They climb with ease the big trunks of 

 trees, embracing them with their long and powerful arms. I have, 

 however, noticed that if a creeper is handy they prefer it, and ascend 

 it with great rapidity. They make better progress, in short, by 

 the lianas than by the tree-trunk, especially if the latter be thick. 

 When they want to get along rapidly they use their arms chiefly, 

 the feet serving more to make their jumps secure than anything 

 else. 



In the orang-utan, compared with man, the proportions of the 



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