At first I thought of Pogo the comic strip, which was a 'possum -- yesterday's mystery leftovers -- but, no.

Mama used to recite this ditty:

I went to the animal fair.
The birds and the beasts were there.
The (something, something) by the (something of something)
Was combing his auburn hair.

Nell

Thanks for the clue Nell, I believe Clint Eastwood had one of these for a pal.

Annette

Clint Eastwwod also had one of these in the movie Every Which way but Loose. We also had a smaller version of this for a few years.
Sue

Hmmm I just remembered all the words to Nell's little song, I might just be wrong as to what I thought it might be. Oh well, you can't win them all. I was picking up on the red hair bit. My guess was the same as Sue's answer.

Annette

Thinman's post immediately evoked a long lost memory for me. The day my Dad 'kidnapped' me & my brother after Sunday School and took us to a wild animal park in a nearby state for the afternoon. Highlight of that tour was the 'bare-bottomed _________' - a near relative of the mystery mammal!

(Please remember that I was, probably, all of five years old at the time and 'bare bottom' anything was definite giggle material.)

Btw, kidnapped may not be the right word, but he rarely entertained us, so it did seem like a kidnapping. Actually, he was just giving my Mom an afternoon off - what a guy!

Anyway, little did I know that relatives of said _________ would not only star w/Clint, but become the focus of a Sunday Trivia Question! I really should have paid closer attention :o)

There is a thin pun in my rambling this time. The clue is, 'Combing his Auburn hair.'

Right Nell, Auburn, I stand corrected LOL, I'll stick with my original guess.

Annette

Well, we aren't talking about chimpanzees. But somebody once threw me for a loop by showing up a party I was hosting with a diapered chimp in his arms. Sure was a chick magnet!

How come you all are so coy? Doesn't have anything to do with spelling, does it? Orangutans are rather strange looking beasties. There might be an albino Orangutan wandering around Georgia somewhere.

Lorna

Lorna, not being coy, just trying to keep the game going a little longer, while letting TM know we probably know the answer. Mind you spelling might have something to do with it in my case. I would have had to look it up LOL.

Do you think the creature in yesterday's puzzle may have been an Orange-utan's Uncle?

Nell, feeling sort of like one of the Marx Brothers -- or Ginger Rogers.

Too funny - right turn, Clyde!!!! lol. Aren't they Jane Goodall's buds, too??

Nancy, who was having too much fun outside today!!!

Oh, no,non - not Jane's buds. Just Clyde!!!

Orangutan, thanks for the spelling Lorna, yep that was my guess after seeing Nell's little ditty, then I thought it might be a Baboon but I think they have red rumps not red hair. Oh heck, I'll stick with Orangutan. I'm still puzzling over what pygmaeus means, does this refer to a smaller then usual Orangutan or that it's different in some other way?
Thanks for another fun weekend TM.

Annette who lurks looking for clues when she doesn't know the answer and has to guess.

Yes, indeed, it is the orangutan.

{{gwi:609601}}

Very funny and informative answers, my friends.

Please check your own papers today, boys and girls. Here are five gold stars. Take 'em if you deserve 'em.

Annette - I can't help you much with the pygmy idea. I did read that orangutans are the last surviving members of the genus pongo, so maybe there were bigger ones in the past?

As always, thank you all for playing trivia with me this weekend. It was fun.

ThinMan

Pongo pygmaeus is the Bornean orangutan, which is larger than the Sumatran. Orangutans are the only type of Great Ape, which did not originate in Africa. I believe there are two extinct species of orangutans. The Bornean orangutan is endangered, and the Sumatran orangutan is critically endangered. Orangutan means "person of the forest" in the language of Malaysia. They are arboreal, they live in trees.

Lorna

Here is a link that might be useful: WWF Orangutans