Eyes closed, hand on heart, this orang-utan mother appears to be belting out a ballad to her beautiful orange baby – perhaps I Will Always Love You-oo-oo?
Her offspring certainly seems impressed and screeches with delight while swinging among the trees in the wilds of Borneo.
As an endangered species, the orang-utan is perhaps more likely to be found singing the blues. Its numbers have dropped to just 40,000 as a result of logging, mining and forest fires.
I Will Always Love You-oo-oo: A mother appears to sing to her baby orang-utan
Nevertheless along with chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos, they have been found to laugh in response to physical contact such as wrestling, play chasing or tickling. They are also known to cry.
Found only in South East Asia on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the gentle red ape demonstrates significant intelligence, with an ability to reason and think.
According to recent research by Harvard University psychologist, James Lee, orang-utans are the world’s most intelligent animal other than man, with higher learning and problem solving ability than chimpanzees, which were previously considered to have greater abilities.
The name orang-utan translates into English as 'people of the forest'.
Emotions: Kano, a one-year old orang-utan, receives a kiss from his mother Anne during his birthday party at Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta. Orang-utans are the world's most intelligent animal other than man
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