Animal Photos: Orangutan and otter families make friendsPublished4 April 2020Image source, Pairi Daiza/Pascale JonesImage caption, Pairi Daiza Zoo in Domaine du Cambron, Belgium, has shared some amazing photos of a blossoming friendship between a family of orangutans and their otter neighbours. It is part of a program designed to maintain the primates' wellbeing in captivity. Orangutan populations are threatened by palm oil plantations in their native Borneo and Sumatra.Image source, Pairi Daiza/Pascale JonesImage caption, As part of the program, a family of Asian small-clawed otters were allowed to live in the river that runs through the enclosure housing the orangutan family: 24-year-old father Ujian, 15-year-old mother Sari and Berani, their three-year-old son. These two look like they're enjoying a fun game of hide and seek!Image source, Pairi Daiza/Pascale JonesImage caption, This looks like a zoo school is going on! We hope the lessons aren't about swinging from ropes or tree vines. The orangutan family arrived at the zoo in 2017. Another two orangutans also live there: Gempa, a male, and Sinta, a female.Image source, Pairi Daiza/Pascale JonesImage caption, "Fancy a treat?" According to zoo spokesman Mathieu Goedefroy, the otters really enjoy getting out of the water and onto the orangutan island to go and play with their furry friends. He added that Berani and Ujian have developed a particularly strong bond with their neighbours.Image source, Pairi Daiza/Pascale JonesImage caption, Zookeepers say orangutans share 97% of their DNA with humans and as a result require a lot of attention and activities to keep them occupied. Staff entertain them all day long with mind games, riddles, puzzles, and other brainy stuff to train their intelligence.More on this storyPalm oil: How is it threatening orangutans? Video, 00:01:45Palm oil: How is it threatening orangutans?Published6 April 20171:45Really rare orangutan released into the wild. Video, 00:01:01Really rare orangutan released into the wildPublished22 December 20181:01This baby goat, emu chick and gosling are bestiesPublished27 March 2021The funniest animals you'll see all dayPublished14 May 2019