When it comes to unusual relationships between different sorts of species, Mother Nature never fails to astonish. This time, a very unique bond between a family of orangutans and some adoring otters captured the attention of the internet.
The two families are living in neighboring enclosures at Pairi Daiza Zoo in Belgium, but even though, no one would ever imagine that two so different species would interact in such a lovely manner. And the adorable photos the zoo recently shared show this special bond is getting better and better!
The strange bond between the orangutans and the otters, according to the zoo’s officials, began as part of a program designed to keep the animals “entertained, engaged, challenged, and kept active cognitively, emotionally, and physically at all times.”
Because otters love to swim and the sole river in the orangutans’ enclosure passes through it, they were certain to cross paths. No one could have predicted the three orangutans’ fascination with their little neighbors.
Ujian, 24, his 15-year-old mother Sari, and their 3-year-old kid Berani are all looking forwards to spending time with their best friends. “The otters on the orangutan island really like coming out of the water to go and play with their big, hairy buddies,” zoo spokesperson Mathieu Goedefroy told CNN.
“Baby Berani and daddy Ujian, in particular, have formed a unique relationship with their neighbors. It improves the quality of life for both animal species, making it a highly successful experiment.
Unfortunately, the orangutan population is now on the bring of extinction. Over the last decades, the orangutans lost more than a half of their native habitats in Borneo and Sumatra, and the main reason is logging operations. The Bornean orangutan is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
0 Comments