By. Anuradha
‘Birds of a feather flock together’ but sometimes, differences also attract each other. You might be a quiet and peaceful one but you would get along with a friend who is so active and crazy. Particularly, when it comes to animals these bonds between animals from different species always attract our eyes as we don’t normally expect animals to befriend someone from a different species.
When the staff at the Pairi Daiza zoo in Brugelette in Belgium decided to make a river for otters that ran through orangutans’ enclosure, they never thought that these animals would befriend each other. Of course, they thought that the people who visit the zoo would like this new path set for otters but they were doubtful of the reaction of orangutans. But magically, orangutans (or otters, we are not sure who took the lead first) decided to welcome these new friends to their abode and that was the beginning of a wonderful friendship between these animals from different species.
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A family of orangutans has become friends with a group of otters at the Pairi Daiza zoo in Belgium.
Speaking to us, Mathieu Godefroy, the spokesman for Pairi Daiza zoo said that,
“The orangutans and the otters mainly play chase-games and hide-and-seek. 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.
This is dad Ujian who is 24 years old.
“The otters hide under large tree trunks or wooden constructions, then Berani, the baby orangutan, comes to look for them. Once in a while they pop out to tease him. It’s 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 making them able to see each other.”
He has formed an especially strong bond with the otters.
“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.
“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.”
Berani is a very curious little orangutan and loves hide-and-seek.
“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.”
So, If you enjoyed the adorable pictures of these friends and I am sure that you would fall in love with them!