‘The orangutans often show genuine interest in the cubs and want to help with their feeding and their cuddling. At both things, they prove to be very proficient.’
And this isn’t the first time that an orangutan has made friends outside of its animal family.
Primate babysitter: A male orangutan at a nature preserve in South Carolina has taken to spending his time with a set of baby tiger cubs, who he sometimes nurses with a bottle
Tender moment: The male orangutan at the Myrtle Beach Safari spends most of his time with human caregivers, and got to know the tigers when those caregivers started nursing the cubs
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Unlikely friends: The gentle orangutan likes to cuddle with the three baby tigers as if they were one of his own
‘Orangutans spend a lot of time with their human caregivers, sometimes when they are nursing tiger cubs,’ the preserve wrote about the unlikely relationship.
In 2007, a set of newborn Sumatran tigers and two young orangutans got along like gangbusters at a zoo in Indonesia.
Unlikely friends: Orangutan and tiger cubs play together
һапɡіпɡ oᴜt: A white baby Bengal tiger looks comfortable being һeɩd by his orangutan friend
ѕсгаtсһ: In the videos released by Discovery Family and the Myrtle Beach Safari, the orangutan looks mesmerized with the baby cats who he loves to pet
Staring contest: The orangutan eyes one of the baby tigers in a heartwarming interaction
Snack time: The orangutan has become just as good at nursing the growing cubs as his human caregivers