A family of orangutans at Paira Daiza Zoo in Belgium formed a special bond with a family of small-clawed sea otters. Their sweet moments together were captured in amazing photos which the zoo shared online.
To uphold the wellbeing of these primates, the zoo decided to let the animals live together. Mathiew Goedefroy, the zoo’s spokesman said that the primates need to be occupied, entertained and challenged to maintain their physical, emotional and mental health.
The animals are entertained through riddles, puzzles and other mind games. Apart from these, living together with other primates helps a lot with their enrichment. “It makes life more fun and interesting for both animal species, which makes it a very successful experiment,” Goedefroy said.
Apparently, the zoo’s enrichment program is working well seeing the orangutans and sea otters in the photos. Because the sea otters live in the river which was run through the ape enclosure, the orangutans can freely go there and play with their sea otter friends.
The little sea otters love the comfort of their home but when their big, furry friends arrive at the river; it’s time to get out of the water and play. In fact, Mom Sari and Baby Berani developed a special bond with the cute sea otters.
They even manage to play a game of hide and seek with their little friends. The orangutan Dad, Ujian, loves to put on a show and keep everyone entertained.
Orangutans and sea otters have a myriad of differences. For one, they survive in different habitats: orangutans live in rainforests while sea otters live in the water.
They also eat different foods and have different survival skills. While the sea otters are charming to humans and have this playful nature, orangutans seem to be a little scary and dominant.
Considering such differences, it’s really amazing that these orangutans and sea otters are able to live together. They are normally “worlds apart” but in the same zoo, they play together and treat one another like real families.
This is probably because of orangutans’ innate intelligence and patience. These apes have close similarities to humans, having 97% of DNA in common. Not only are orangutans clever but they are also inquisitive and observant.
Like humans, they have big, opposable toes and thumbs, giving them remarkable strength to survive on their own.
A lot of people think orangutans are invasive because of their incredible strength but they are actually gentle. Their uncanny similarities to humans enable them to reason and think.
They live in peace and quiet, away from predators and don’t have any intention to hurt humans. They are busy looking for foods to survive and look after their family members.
This is the same when orangutans are in a zoo. Though they are basically in captivity, they don’t tend to become aggressive towards people and other animals. Instead, they make use of their abilities to reason and empathize, making them great buddies for both humans and animals.
The photos of orangutans and sea otters at the zoo are just proof that orangutans can be as caring and as friendly as humans. Thanks to the zoo in Belgium for sharing these wonderful animal photos. We hope that this simple yet amazing story helps take your mind off the current crisis.
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