The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-09-27 00:00:00

THE HIGHER APES.

At the annual meeting, held this year at Saratoga,
of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, Mr. W. F. Hornaday read a paper on apes,
illustrating it by stuffed specimens mounted on trees.
He described the ourangs of Borneo, and their man-
like features, and stated that the faces of the ourangs
show as much individuality as those of the Malays or
Chinese—each one has an expression of its own, and a
very intelligent one. A drawing was shown of a pet
infant ourang owned by the speaker, an account of
which was given to the audience. This little fellow
behaved in all respects like a human baby, exhibiting
every emotion of fear, delight, anger, &c., just as a
child would do, The male ourangs were described as
fighting a gre;it deal. AU the old ones are covered
with scars inflicted by the formidable canine teeth
which these animals use wholly for defence and
offence, since they are fruit•eating, and hence do not
employ them in chewing. Their effort is always to
seize the arm or head of an enemy, and draw the
fingers or lips into their mouth, instead of advancing
their own heads to bite.
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The genus Simia, to which the ourang belongs, in-
habits Sumatra and Borneo. Borneo was chosen as
the speaker's hunting ground and an expedition made
into the interior in August. At this season the
ourangs were along the river courses in the forest, and
Mr. Hornaday's party pursued them in boats, the
banks of the great river being everywhere flooded. The
method was to shoot them on first eight, otherwise
they would escape. The presence of these apes was
indicated by their nests, of which many were seen.
These nests occupy the tops of small trees, into
which the ourang climbs, breaks the branches out of
the centre, and piles them into a thick platform, upon
which he sleeps. His pastime is to lie flat upon his
back, with his arms and legs extended upward, firmly
grasping the nearest limbs. The same nest is occupied
several nights, or until the leaves have fallen from the
branches. The explorer had never seen anything like
the huts which these ewes have been reputed to build;
but be thought it probable that the ourangs cover
themselves with leafy branches in stormy weather.
His pat ourang, he had noticed, used straw for the
same purpose at such times, even when a roof was
overhead.
The ourang cannot possibly stand erect, never steps
upon the ground if he can help it, and is unable to
swim. He is not active nor graceful, and is the most
helpless of the quadrumana. His favourite mode of
progress is by swinging along underneath the branches
like a gymnast. The natural position of the hand is
clinched. The length of the male has never been
known to excted 4ft. 6in, and it is usually not more
than 4ft. The reach of the extended arms varies from
7Th. to Bft., but it does not always happen that the
tallest individuals have the longest arms. The female
is much smaller; the duration of life is thought to be
from 20 to 25 years.
The speaker closed by insisting upon the very close
resemblance to the human race which an intimate
acquaintance which these intelligent creatures forces
upon the attention.—Wednesday's Times.