Orangutans Play with Otter Family in Adorable Zoo Photos

• An amazing friendship is stealing the hearts of netizens all over the world.
• A zoo has shared adorable photos of a family of orangutans hanging out with little otters that live close to their enclosure.
• The sweet relationship between the creatures was actually part of a program that helps the apes deal with captivity.

Orangutans are undoubtedly some of the coolest creatures in the world. In addition to being highly intelligent, these gentle monkeys can also get along well with other animals. This was proven when a zoo decided to let a family of otters interact with their simian neighbors. Luckily, there are adorable photos that reveal their sweet interactions.

The Pairi Daiza zoo in Domaine du Cambron, Belgium decided to allow a family of orangutans to hang out with the otters who also live in the zoo. This is part of a program designed to help maintain the apes’ wellbeing while in captivity. Interestingly, the interaction with the otters actually aids in keeping their monkey friends happy while living in the zoo.

These otters love playing with their big furry friend!

The orangutan family is made up of 24-year-old father Ujian, 15-year-old mother Sari and 3-year-old Berani, their son. They play with the Asian small-clawed otters that were allowed to live in the river near their enclosure.

Little Berani with his otter friends

Zoo spokesman Mathieu Goedefroy confirmed that the animal families get along well.

“The otters really enjoy getting out of the water on the orangutan island to go and play with their big, furry friends,” he said.

Goedefroy also revealed that it is Ujian and Berani who have a close bond with the little otters.

Peek-a-boo! I see you!

“It makes life more fun and interesting for both animal species, which makes it a very successful experiment,” Goedefroy remarked. He also shared that the orangutans get along well with their keepers, who constantly entertain them with “mind games, riddles, puzzles, and other stuff to train their intelligence.”