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Orangutans Befriend Otters That Often Swim Through Their Enclosure At The Zoo Forming ‘A Very Special Bond’
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Orangutans Befriend Otters That Often Swim Through Their Enclosure At The Zoo Forming ‘A Very Special Bond’

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The friendship between different animal species is always adorable to watch. This time, an unlikely friendship between a family of orangutans and some otters at a Belgian zoo has captured the internet’s attention (and its heart).

The orangutans and otters first met when the staff at Pairi Daiza zoo in Brugelette ran the otters’ river through the orangutans’ enclosure. Ever since then, a wholesome and dare we say magical bond formed between the two species.

The otterly adorable photos speak for themselves, so scroll down, get ready to aww and have a wide smile on your faces, dear Pandas. Read on for Bored Panda’s interview with Mathieu Goedefroy, spokesman for Pairi Daiza zoo. And when you’re done enjoying this post, check out our previous article for some more unusual animal friendships.

More info: PairiDaiza.eu | Facebook | Twitter

A family of orangutans has become friends with a group of otters at the Pairi Daiza zoo in Belgium

Image credits: Caters News

This is dad Ujian who is 24 years old

Image credits: Caters News

He has formed an especially strong bond with the otters

Image credits: Caters News

Dad Ujian who is 24, mom Sari (15), and their son Berani (who just turned 4 years old) make up the orangutan family in the zoo. In one of the photos, Berani is playing hide-and-seek with his Asian small-clawed otter buddies.

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Mathieu told Bored Panda that the orangutans and the otters mainly play chase-games and hide-and-seek. “The otters hide under large tree trunks or wooden constructions, then Berani, the baby orangutan, comes to look for them. Once and a while they pop out to tease him. It’s really amazing to see.”

According to Mathieu, the zoo invests a lot in “enrichment” of their animal enclosures. “This means that not only size but also the quality of life is very important. One of the ways to do that (besides hiding food, making puzzles, organizing mind games, putting some swings or new logs in there) is by placing animal species that can interact with each other in the same enclosure, or make them able to see each other.”

“Our gorillas live together with colobus monkeys, our penguins live with the seals, our kangaroos share an enclosure with pelicans, we have squirrels living with bats, pygmy hippos with pelicans, giraffes with ostriches, Asian elephants with Asian gazelles, zebras with buffalos… and so on,” he said.

Mathieu confirmed to Bored Panda that the zoo is currently closed to the public until it’s allowed to reopen; Belgium is currently facing a lockdown due to the coronavirus. “This does not stop us from giving our animals the very best care each day.”

This is 4-year-old Berani who loves playing with his friends and it’s otterly adorable

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Image credits: Caters News

Berani is a very curious little orangutan and loves hide-and-seek

Image credits: Caters News

“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,” he told Caters News. “This means that an animal—and this is, even more, the case of orangutans, with whom humans share 97 percent of their DNA—must be entertained, occupied, challenged and kept busy mentally, emotionally and physically at all times.”

Mathieu pointed out that ever since 2017, when the orangutans moved from Germany to Pairi Daiza zoo, the otters just love interacting with their “big furry friends.”

“In particular, baby Berani and daddy Ujian have developed a very special bond with their neighbors,” Mathieu said. “It makes life more fun and interesting for both animal species, which makes it a very successful experiment.”

Palm plantations in Borneo and Sumatra threaten the orangutan populations there. Mathieu told CNN that the Pairi Daiza zoo has raised funds to plant 11k trees in Borneo to restore a forest there and help out the native orangutans.

People loved looking at the photos of the animals playing together

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Hey pandas, what do you think?
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deathmetalkitty avatar
Death Metal Kitty
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I for one... want to go to a zoo where I can see animals playing with each other, and not just one where they're playing by their lonesome.

donalomurchadha avatar
Dónal Ó Murchadha
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Animals are great, but zoos suck. Rearing animals to eat is fine but to enclose and confine them for life for our entertainment is obscene. people will say it helps conservation. An orangutan in Dublin Zoo in 2008 cultivated a tree towards his enclosure wall. After a few years Maggie made the jump to freedom. I really don't think she wanted to be there.

Load More Replies...
crabcrab avatar
Hans
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I also need a bigger garden, a pond, and a host of otters.

sidewinderscott2 avatar
Scott Lloyd
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

well c**p looks like they are training an army of otters.

chrisdifonso avatar
Chris DiFonso
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is priceless. I'm curious, though, how the zoo management was certain that the orangutans wouldn't hurt the otters. BTW, I didn't realize just how large adult orangutans are.

emiamohler avatar
SirPatTheCat
Community Member
4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just...be careful...orangutans are known to eat small mammals occasionally... obviously these orangutans are well fed, and probably won't get hungry enough to want to work for their food...but you can never be too cautious...(sorry to be that person)

phantom_darkchild avatar
Jane Revevalin
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Fun fact: "Berani" means brave in Indonesian, which is so appropriate for the baby! ("Ujian" means test, btw)

cjucz22 avatar
Christina Uhlir
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Different animal species are able to form a beautiful friendship, while different people hate each other.

payet_fabienne avatar
Tahani
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pairi Daiza also works on animal preservation, they are the best zoo here in Belgium and even have an animal protection fund. They do a lot of good even if it is a zoo.

natalybills avatar
VogueGal
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love that the orang utan all have Indonesian names; what a beautiful family. The otters are amazingly cute. Overall this is a wonderful post! Thank you.

m_wellbring avatar
Peko
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's nice that this attempt turned out well. But I'd be very careful about turning a small species of animal loose in an Orangutang-enclosure. Orangutangs have have several times been observed exhibiting selective carnivore behaviour

teresacline avatar
Cold Contagious
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is so fantastic and adorable. They bring so much joy to each other's lives. Sounds like a awesome place to be. Would enjoy seeing these animals interact in person. So much love.

pettypatty avatar
Petty Patty
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm sorry, but can we talk about the poor penguins being placed with seals?! ☠️☠️

deathmetalkitty avatar
Death Metal Kitty
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I for one... want to go to a zoo where I can see animals playing with each other, and not just one where they're playing by their lonesome.

donalomurchadha avatar
Dónal Ó Murchadha
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Animals are great, but zoos suck. Rearing animals to eat is fine but to enclose and confine them for life for our entertainment is obscene. people will say it helps conservation. An orangutan in Dublin Zoo in 2008 cultivated a tree towards his enclosure wall. After a few years Maggie made the jump to freedom. I really don't think she wanted to be there.

Load More Replies...
crabcrab avatar
Hans
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I also need a bigger garden, a pond, and a host of otters.

sidewinderscott2 avatar
Scott Lloyd
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

well c**p looks like they are training an army of otters.

chrisdifonso avatar
Chris DiFonso
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is priceless. I'm curious, though, how the zoo management was certain that the orangutans wouldn't hurt the otters. BTW, I didn't realize just how large adult orangutans are.

emiamohler avatar
SirPatTheCat
Community Member
4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just...be careful...orangutans are known to eat small mammals occasionally... obviously these orangutans are well fed, and probably won't get hungry enough to want to work for their food...but you can never be too cautious...(sorry to be that person)

phantom_darkchild avatar
Jane Revevalin
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Fun fact: "Berani" means brave in Indonesian, which is so appropriate for the baby! ("Ujian" means test, btw)

cjucz22 avatar
Christina Uhlir
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Different animal species are able to form a beautiful friendship, while different people hate each other.

payet_fabienne avatar
Tahani
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pairi Daiza also works on animal preservation, they are the best zoo here in Belgium and even have an animal protection fund. They do a lot of good even if it is a zoo.

natalybills avatar
VogueGal
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love that the orang utan all have Indonesian names; what a beautiful family. The otters are amazingly cute. Overall this is a wonderful post! Thank you.

m_wellbring avatar
Peko
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's nice that this attempt turned out well. But I'd be very careful about turning a small species of animal loose in an Orangutang-enclosure. Orangutangs have have several times been observed exhibiting selective carnivore behaviour

teresacline avatar
Cold Contagious
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is so fantastic and adorable. They bring so much joy to each other's lives. Sounds like a awesome place to be. Would enjoy seeing these animals interact in person. So much love.

pettypatty avatar
Petty Patty
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm sorry, but can we talk about the poor penguins being placed with seals?! ☠️☠️

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