A family of orangutans have formed a ‘very special bond’ with the otters who share their enclosure at a Belgian zoo.
The three orangutans, at Pairi Daiza zoo in Brugelette, first encountered the Asian small-clawed otters after staff decided to run their river through the apes’ territory.
Extraordinary photographs show the orangutan family – Ujian, 24, Sari, 15 and their son Bernai, three – greeting their unusual friends as they run around the enclosure.
Another image shows the youngest orangutan, Berani, appearing to play a game of hide and seek with an otter who is resting beneath a wooden platform.
Extraordinary photographs capture a family of orangutans who have developed a ‘very special bond’ with the otters who share their enclosure at a Belgian zoo
The eldest, however, prefers to grab the attention of the entire crowd and entertain them as a group.
The zoo claims allowing two animal species to live together and interact is ‘enrichment’ for both parties.
Pairi Daiza zoo spokesman Mathieu Goedefroy said: ‘Two factors are very important for the well being of an animal in captivity: the size of his enclosure, but also the quality of his enclosure.
‘This means that an animal – and this is even more the case of orangutans, with whom humans share 97 per cent of their DNA – must be entertained, occupied, challenged and kept busy mentally, emotionally and physically at all times.
The three orangutans, at Pairi Daiza zoo in Brugelette, first encountered the Asian small-clawed otters after staff decided to run their river through the apes’ territory
Another image shows the youngest orangutan, Berani, appearing to play a game of hide and seek with an otter who is resting beneath a wooden platform
‘For this, we have a very strong “enrichment” program for our orangutans, where our keepers entertain them all day long with mind games, riddles, puzzles, and other stuff to train their intelligence.
‘One of the “enrichments” is to have different animal species together, so they can interact.
‘That’s why we chose to let an otter family live in the river that runs through the orangutan territory.’
Mr Goedefroy added the otters ‘really enjoy getting out of the water on the orangutan island to go and play with their big, furry friends.’
The zoo claims allowing two animal species to live together and interact is ‘enrichment’ for both parties
Photographs show the orangutan family – Ujian, 24, Sari, 15 and their son Bernai, three – watching their unusual friends as they run around the enclosure
Mum amazed when orangutan supports her as she breastfeeds baby at zoo
‘In particular baby Berani and daddy Ujian have developed a very special bond with their neighbours,’ he said.
‘It makes life more fun and interesting for both animal species, which makes it a very successful experiment.’