r/BeAmazed • u/LarryKeene • Mar 03 '25

Animal Orangutan asked to see one-month-old baby! 🧡

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u/greenyellowbird Mar 03 '25

I used to volunteer at the Philly zoo and was watching the squirrel monkeys, it was just me in the observation room. I took a chapstick out of my purse but I noticed that I had a furry audience when I was digging through my purse and their faces changed/looked intrigued when I pulled out the chapstick. 

Going forward, I would bring a paperbag and throw in random crap. Utensils, office supplies, and i went out and bought some baby toys...and they would see me w the bag and gather at the branch nearest to me and almost talk among themselves whenever I'd pull something out of the mystery bag!

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u/Popular-Web-3739 Mar 03 '25

Years, ago, I had an orangutan at the San Diego Zoo ask through the glass to see what was in my purse. I pulled out chapstick and it ran its fingers across its lips, so I put the chapstick on. I had a package of gum and it pointed inside its mouth, so I chewed some gum. I pulled out a brush and it stroked its head, etc.. Really cool encounter.

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u/yet-again-temporary Mar 03 '25

Not to be one of those people who anthropomorphizes everything like it's a Disney movie, but I really do think we've only scratched the surface of understanding just how smart a lot of animals are.

Sounds like it knew exactly what those items were for, probably from watching other zoo-goers over the years.

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u/Massive-Exercise4474 Mar 04 '25

Elephants have crazy long memories. They'll know your grandpa, your dad, and you, and if they didn't like your grandpa they'll hate you too.