wonderful degree, under various circumstances. They act thus, not only
when slightly angered, sulky, or disappointed, but when alarmed at
anything in one instance, at the sight of a turtle,[517] and likewise
when pleased. But neither the degree of protrusion nor the shape of the
mouth is exactly the same, as I believe, in all cases; and the sounds
which are then uttered are different. The accompanying drawing
represents a chimpanzee made sulky by an orange having been offered
him, and then taken away. A similar protrusion or pouting of the lips,
though to a much slighter degree, may be seen in sulky children.
Chimpanzee Disappointed and Sulky. Fig. 18
Many years ago, in the Zoological Gardens, I placed a looking-glass on
the floor before two young orangs, who, as far as it was known, had
never before seen one. At first they gazed at their own images with the
most steady surprise, and often changed their point of view. They then
approached close and protruded their lips towards the image, as if to
kiss it, in exactly the same manner as they had previously done towards
each other, when first placed, a few days before, in the same room.
They next made all sorts of grimaces, and put themselves in various
attitudes before the mirror; they pressed and rubbed the surface; they
placed their hands at different distances behind it; looked behind it;
and finally seemed almost frightened, started a little, became cross,
and refused to look any longer.
When we try to perform some little action which is difficult and
requires precision, for instance, to thread a needle, we generally
close our lips firmly, for the sake, I presume, of not disturbing our
movements by breathing; and I noticed the same action in a young Orang.
The poor little creature was sick, and was amusing itself by trying to
kill the flies on the window-panes with its knuckles; this was
difficult as the flies buzzed about, and at each attempt the lips were
firmly compressed, and at the same time slightly protruded.
Although the countenances, and more especially the gestures, of orangs
and chimpanzees are in some respects highly expressive, I doubt whether
on the whole they are so expressive as those of some other kinds of
monkeys. This may be attributed in part to their ears being immovable,
93