Dale Nelson, age 9, of Spokane, Washington, for his question:

What kind of animal is the orangutan?

In his homeland the orangutan is known as Old Man of the Woods. He is one of the big ape family of animals. Lots of us have seen him at the zoo and watched him perform clever :rick3. Sometimes he seems clever enough to be almost human.

The big, shaggy orangutan shares his homeland with the people of Borneo and Sumatra. These tropical islands straddle the equator. They belong to the Indonesian Islands that are between the top of Australia and the drooping fingers of Asia. Borneo and Sumatra ,~.~ ':.g ~~ldnas with loto of stc r.:y '  ,ngle. There the orangutan makes his home in the thick, shadowy trees. He is clever enough and strong enough to cope with all his jungle enemies. People say that he can bite a mighty python snake in two and tear apart the toothy jaws of a hungry crocodile.

But the orangutan is a rather shy character, especially with human beings. He tends to stay hidden high up in its thick, leafy bo!,g'cs and the Indonesian people seldom see him. They call him the c„arawurdl b?ca!ce in their language this name means "The Old Man of the Woods." It is a suitable name, for oirtainly lives in the woods. And he does look some¬what like a sad faced human c c;.n dressed up to look like a great great grand daddy, forlorn and forgotten.

The Old Man is a great ape, a whopping monkey without a tail. His shaggy coat is rusty brown tinged with brick red. He may weight 200 pounds, as much as a big man. But when he stands upright, he is no taller than a ten year old boy and his mighty arms are almost long enough to reach the ground. When he spreads them sideways, they may measure 7 1/2 feet from fingertip to fingertip. His huge head is slumped low on his shoulders. His huge, monkey type face may be circled around with loose flaps of rough, warty skin.

In the tall treetops, the big fellow can swing from a bough faster than a man can run. His long arms are mighty and strong, but his legs are weak. On the ground he is slow and clumsy. He leans forward with his knuckles on the ground, using his mighty arms as crutches to swing along his bulky body. But the Old Man does not need to cope with this clumsy life on the ground. He eats and he sleeps among the leafy treas. He dines mostly on jungle fruit and he likes it sour and rather unripe. Every night he builds himself a sleeping pad of springy bough. In the rainy orn3on, he covers himself with a blanket of leaves. And he lays in his cozy bed ‘til the morning sun has dried up the last drop of dry moisture.

Zoos pay several thousand dollars for a captive orangutan because the clever fellow is a star attraction. He can learn to dress himself in human clothes. He can ride a tricycle and hammer nails. And the smart fellow can figure out how to unlock a door. He loves his human friends and enjoys his life at the zoo.