THE MAN-SHAPED APES— GIBBON. 



23 



THE GIBBON..^ 



No other Apes show such a development of the 

 upper extremities as the Gibbons or Long-armed 

 Apes {Hylobates). They perfectly justify their 

 name, for when they stand erect their fingers touch 

 the ground. This one trait would suffice to distin- 

 guish the Long-armed Apes from all others of their 

 class. 



The Gibbons form the most numerous tribe of the 

 Man-shaped Apes, there being about seven different 

 kinds of these animals. They are all inhabitants of 

 Asia, being found in East 

 India and the adjoining 

 great islands of Sumatra, 

 Java and Borneo. They 

 attain a considerable size, 

 though none of them ex- 

 ceed three feet four 

 inches in height. The 

 body appears very slen- 

 der in spite of the highly 

 developed chest, for the 

 hips, are very harrow, re- 

 ■ ttimdMg-one of a Grey- 

 hbiirid(. the lower extrem- 

 ities are very much longer 

 than the upper, and the 

 elongated hands in some 

 species show the forefin- 

 ger to be connected with 

 the middle finger by 

 means of a membrane. 

 The head is small and 

 egg-shaped, the face very 

 human, the callosities on 

 the hind quarters are 

 small and the tail not vis- 

 ible. Their fur is plenti- 

 ful and sometimes silky ;, 

 the coloring may be 

 black, brown, brownish- 

 gray or cream. All the 

 Gibbons are gifted with 

 an exceedingly strong 

 voice, which they use a 

 great deal in the morning 

 hours. 



Leading The most 



Varieties of remarkable 



the Gibbon, of the Long- 

 armed Apes are : the Sia- 

 mang {Hylobates syndac- 

 tylus), the Hoolock 



i Hylobates hoolock), the 

 .ar or White-h a n d e d 

 Gibbon {Hylobates lar), the Ungko {Hylobates raf- 

 flesii) and the Wau-wau or Oa {Hylobates variegatus). 

 The largest of the tribe is the Siamang, which pos- 

 sesses a soft black coat of fur, and a pouch at the 

 throat, which he inflates in screaming, to strengthen 

 his voice. His native country is Sumatra. The Hoo- 

 look, a trifle smaller than the Siamang, is usually 

 black with the exception of a white band on the 

 forehead ; although there are several lighter kinds. 

 He has no pouch, and inhabits India. The Ungko, 

 which has his home in Sumatra and is a rarer animal, 

 shows still greater varieties of coloring. He, as well 

 as the Siamang, is found sometimes as high as three 

 thousand feet above sea-level in the mountain-forests. 

 The Wau-wau has a face of a bluish-black hue, the 



THE WAU-WAU. Native of the great Asiatic islands, and is also 



known as the Silvery Gibbon, from the coloring of its fur. It is among the 

 most agile of all its group and can easily swing through the air from tree- 

 branch to tree-branch, a distance of fifty feet or more. The depth of the chin 

 and the two prominent ridges on the forehead give to the face a rather unpleas- 

 ant appearance, but in captivity the animal is amiable and readily attaches 

 itself to its master. {Hylobates variegatus.) 



Astonishing 



Agility of 



Gibbons. 



head, the breast, and the inner sides of the arms and 

 legs being dark brown, the rest of the body lighter. 

 He inhabits the Malay Peninsula, together with the 

 Lar, but is also found in Sumatra and Borneo. The 

 frame of the Long-armed Apes is especially adapted 

 for climbing. They are possessed of every qualifica- 

 tion necessary for rapid, protracted and agile climb- 

 ing and jumping. The large chest is endowed with 

 capacious lungs, which dp not tire or give out when 

 the blood circulates faster during active exercise, 

 the strong lower extremities give the necessary im- 

 petus for long leaps, the long arms lend security in 



the seizing of a branch 

 destined to be the next 

 point of support, and 

 which might easily be 

 missed with shorter arms. 

 How long these arms are 

 proportionately is best 

 seen by comparison with 

 Man. The latter, extend- 

 ing his arms, takes in a 

 width equal to his length; 

 the Gibbon, double his 

 length. A Man standing 

 erect, touches the middle 

 of his thigh ; a Gibbon, 

 his ankle-joint. Of 

 course these arms are no 

 fit instruments for walk- 

 ing ; they are only in- 

 tended for climbing. 

 Therefore, the walk of a 

 Long-armed Ape is but 

 an awkward balancing of 

 the hind legs, a clumsy 

 waddling, while its move- 

 ments in climbing and 

 dancing among the 

 branches are full of life 

 and grace, seemingly 

 knowing no bounds and 

 ignoring the laws of grav- 

 ity. On the ground the 

 Gibbons are slow and ex- 

 tremely clumsy. There 

 they are awkward and 

 out of place ; in the trees 

 they are swift as birdst 

 All narrators are unani- 

 mous in their admiration 

 of the climbing accom- 

 plishments of the Long- 

 armed Apes, in which 

 they excel every other 

 species. 

 Duvaucel relates with what incredible 

 rapidity and assurance the Wau-wau 

 climbs a bamboo-cane, a tree top or a 

 branch, swings to and fro on it, and then flings him- 

 self through space, covering distances of forty to fifty 

 feet with the greatest ease, flying like an arrow or a 

 bird. It looks as if the consciousness of this incom- 

 parable agility gives him great pleasure, for he takes 

 immense leaps that he could easily avoid ; sometimes 

 changing his direction in the air, hanging on to the 

 nearest branch and throwing himself forward again. 

 It really produces the impression of magic, as if he 

 could fly without wings, and lived more in the air 

 than in the trees. What could such a being do on 

 the ground ? He is a stranger there, and only visits 



