MONKEYS, APES AND THEIR KINDRED 159 



some of its relatives, and is a wary beast, difficult to stalk in its wild 

 fastness. Its food consists of soft fruit, but it will not disdain such 

 delicacies as honey, larvae, and even birds. Where the beasts 

 frequent a tract of country upon which agriculture is practised, the 

 crops often suffer from their ravages, the animals banding together 

 and making a raid upon corn, banana, and other plantations, and as 

 they are mostly nocturnal, it is difficult on this account, and also 

 because of their watchfulness, to effect a capture. 



It is very sensitive to cold, and great care has to be exercised in 

 keeping it in captivity, although it is true that it endures the 

 changeable English climate better than its other anthropoid 

 relations. It is at all times an interesting animal to make friends 

 with, and visitors to our and other Zoological Gardens will have 

 made acquaintance with such famous Chims as Sally, Micky, 

 Consul, and others. Whilst Chims exhibit a certain intelligence, 

 there is a decided limit to their powers, which at once cuts them off 

 from the keen perception and intellectual capabilities of mankind, 

 and although they go through various tricks with a cleverness which 

 is bound to attract attention, there seems little doubt that the author 

 of The Handy Natural History is right when he states that "these 

 show animals have little claim to real intelligence. They only go 

 through what at best are their tricks while under the watchful eye of 

 a trainer. The cleverest Ape would no more dream of using a knife 

 and fork of its own initiative when feeding, than a caged Lion 

 would of its own free-will amuse an audience by leaping through 

 blazing hoops." 



ORANG-UTAN. — The Orang-Utan (Fig. 120) stands about four 

 and a half feet in height, and makes its home in the densely wooded 

 and well-watered districts of Borneo and Sumatra. Possessing a 

 facial resemblance to the Chimpanzee, it is distinguished from it by 

 being clothed in a rougher coat of shaggy hair, and is much more 

 arboreal in its habits. It is, as its Malayan name of Orang-Utan 

 implies, a man-of-the-woods, frequenting the tops of the tallest trees 

 of the aboriginal forests. 



In colour the shaggy coat is reddish-brown, and this is stated 

 to harmonize with the bark of the trees the animal frequents, thus 

 affording excellent protection to the defenceless young ones. The 

 profusion of hair with which the body is clothed, and especially the 

 back, ably protects the Orang from tropical rains, as, in consequence 

 of its habit of assuming a semi-erect posture, it exposes its back parts 



