Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Meet me at the swimming hole

These incredible pictures of orangutans swimming in an Indonesian
river have left wildlife experts stunned.

Playing on the Rungan River, near to Palas Island on Borneo, these
orangutans can be seen swimming and submerging themselves in the muddy
waters.










For experts the behaviour of these orangutans – who like all apes have
a natural fear of water because of predators such as crocodiles -
could prove to be a significant step forward in their evolution.

“This is a rarity – to see orangutans coming down for a swim is
unheard of in the wild,” says Simon Husson – project advisor and
scientific consultant for Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation.

“However, we know that orangutans are intelligent and innovative."

Source

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