4» ORAN OTAN. 



seems to be dusky or brown ; in some ferruginous 

 or reddish brown, and in others coal-black, with the 

 skin itself white. The face is bare ; the ears, 

 hands, and feet nearly similar to the human, and 

 the whole appearance such as to exhibit the most 

 striking approximation to the human figure. 

 The likeness, however, is only a general one, and 

 the structure of the hands and feet, when exa- 

 mined with anatomical exactness, seems to prove, 

 in the opinion of those most capable of judging 

 with accuracy on the subject, that the animal was 

 principally designed by nature for the quadrupedal 

 manner of walking, and not for an upright pos- 

 ture, which is only occasionally assumed, and 

 which, in those exhibited to the public, is, perhaps, 

 rather owing to instruction than truly natural. 

 The Count de BufTon, indeed, makes it one of the 

 distinctive characters of the real or proper apes 

 (among which the oran otan is the chief), to walk 

 erect on two legs only ; and it must be granted, 

 that these animals support an upright position much 

 more easily and readily than most other quadru- 

 peds, and may probably be very often seen in this 

 attitude even in a state of nature. 



The manners of the Oran Otan, when in capti- 

 vity, are gentle, and perfectly void of that dis- 

 gusting ferocity so conspicuous in some of the 

 larger baboons and monkies. The Oran Otan is 

 mild and docile, and may be taught to perform, 

 with dexterity, a variety of actions in domestic 

 life. Thus it has been seen to sit at table, and, 

 in its manner of feeding and general behaviour, to 



