Orangu-tantrum! Ape has a tug-of-war with family of otters as they try to steal his blankets at Belgian zoo
- Footage was taken by staff at their home in Pairi Daiza zoo in Brugelette, Belgium
- It shows a trio of oriental small-clawed otters and four-year-old ape Berani
- The animals became friends when staff ran a river through the orangutans area
Heartwarming footage shows a zoo orangutan having a tug-of-war with a family of otters as they try to steal his blankets.
The video was taken at Pairi Daiza zoo in Brugelette, Belgium, where the unlikely playmates share an enclosure.
The video shows three oriental small-clawed otters attempting to snatch the covers from a four-year-old orangutan called Berani.
This is the moment an orangutan has a tug-of-war with a family of otters as they try to steal his blankets at Pairi Daiza zoo in Brugelette, Belgium
The video shows three oriental small-clawed otters attempting to snatch the covers from a four-year-old orangutan called Berani
The trio can be seen chasing the young ape as he teases the otters with his blankets.
The two species became friends when staff at the zoo decided to run the otter’s river through the orangutans’ territory.
However, as this funny footage shows, as much as they love each other, the playful animals don’t always see eye-to-eye.
Claire Gilissen, a spokesperson for the zoo, said: ‘Animals as intelligent as orangutans need to be stimulated constantly.
‘Our keepers have surprises in store for them every day and, besides that, the presence of the Oriental small-clawed otter in their territory is also a permanent source of distraction, for both species.
‘The three female Oriental small-clawed otters – a mother and her two daughters – who live with the orangutan family are always so playful.
‘And it is a real camaraderie that has developed between them and Berani, one of the two young orangutans.
‘Almost every day, they come spontaneously near the temple to see if their sidekick wants to go out and they don’t hesitate to go inside if the door is open.
‘The four friends then play all sorts of funny games together.’
The two species became friends when staff at the zoo decided to run the otter’s river through the orangutan’s territory
Orangutans are extremely threatened in the wild and Pairi Daiza has raised funds for more than 11,000 trees to be replanted in Borneo in a bid to restore their habitat
The orangutan family arrived at the award-winning zoo in 2017 after moving from Germany.
Orangutans are extremely threatened in the wild and Pairi Daiza has raised funds for more than 11,000 trees to be replanted in Borneo in a bid to restore their habitat.
For more information about the Pairi Daiza Foundation, which works to fight deforestation and restore the habitat of Orangutans in Borneo, please visit: https://www.pairidaiza.eu/en/restoring-habitat-orangutans-borneo
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