ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



1389 



A BASHFUL ORANG 



A Bashful Orang-Utan. — Young orang-utans 

 are usually bold and confiding, and delight to 

 be carried about by anyone who takes an in- 

 terest in them. We have an exception to the 

 rule, however, and this is Datu. He was born 

 in the spring of 1912, and while playful enough 

 in his roomy cage, where he impishly delights 

 in teasing his immediate chums — another young 

 orang and a chimpanzee — he steadily refuses 

 to make friends among the keepers. Keeper 

 Engeholm is the only member of the Monkey 

 House staff who can handle Datu without em- 

 ploying vigorous measures. If Engeholm for 

 a moment leaves the ape while the latter is out 

 for exercise, he manifests his rage with the 

 most fearsome screeches. 



Datu is particularly bashful in the presence 

 of the camera. When the instrument is made 

 ready, there is a furtive search for friendly ob- 

 jects to serve as hiding places. The two photo- 

 graphs here shown portray Mr. Sanborn's 

 difficulties. In the first instance Datu refused 

 to be photographed on the table and retired 

 beneath it. After many attempts he was in- 

 duced to remain on the table, but only when 

 a stool was provided as a canopy of partial 

 seclusion. 



New Anthropoids. — Despite the fact that the 

 serious war conditions have practically elimin- 

 ated the foreign animal-market, we have 

 managed to obtain another specimen of chim- 

 panzee which adds strength of numbers to our 

 series of anthropoid apes. There now are three 

 chimpanzees, representing two species, and one 

 orang-utan. The newest arrival among the 

 anthropoids is a female about three years old, 

 of the white-faced type known as Pan chim-. 

 panzee, and was captured near the Gaboon 

 Coast. Our other chimpanzees are not tract- 

 able, and can not be handled. The newcomer. 



which we call "Fanny," is particularly wel- 

 come, as she is altogether docile and delights to 

 be carried about by her keeper. 



Mammal House Repairs. — Owing to the gen- 

 erous amount of water and disinfectants nec- 

 essarily used in the cleaning of collections like 

 those of the Small-Mammal House, the cages 

 of that building have become so disintegrated 

 by rusting, that it has become necessary to re- 

 place them. The new compartments have been 

 designed particularly to eliminate grooves and 

 channels where water could accumulate. Few 

 of our visitors realize the great amount of labor 

 involved in cleaning the cages of this building. 

 Without this work, the musky odors produced 

 by a collection of civets, mustelines, small 

 canines, felines and various other animals would 

 render the building unpleasant for visitors. 

 There are over one hundred and twenty cages 

 in this building, and each of these must be 

 scrubbed and scoured every morning before 

 visitors enter. To further purify the air we 

 have an electric ozonating apparatus in opera- 

 tion during the day. 



Cementing the Wild-Fowl Pond. — In con- 

 junction with the repair work in the Small- 

 Mammal House, is the installing of a cement 

 bottom in the Wild-Fowl Pond. Occasional 

 sickness among the water-birds has demon- 

 strated the necessity of treating the pond so 

 that it can be emptied, and the bottom washed, 

 at regular periods. This improvement effects 

 a series of small-mammal cages on the west- 

 erly shore. With the water out of the pond, 

 the cages for coypu rats and otters are receiv- 

 ing their share of attention, and an interesting 

 installation will mark the filling of the pond 

 and return of the ducks, geese and other water- 

 fowl from their temporary quarters. 



HE WAS INDUCED TO REMAIN ON THE TABLE ONLY 

 WHEN SHELTERED BY THE STOOL 



