As cute and “so like us” as they may seem, one thing we should always be mindful about orangutans is that the seemingly docile creatures are exceptionally strong, as this case illustrates.
On Monday, a 19-year-old who went by the initials HA visited Kasang Kulim Zoo in Kampar Regency, Riau. Disregarding a safe distance barrier around the orangutan enclosure, he approached the cage and appeared to taunt the orangutan by offering a hug, while a camera was set up to film the encounter.
Using its long, powerful arms, the orangutan grabbed HA by the shirt from behind the cage, as the human panicked and struggled to get free. Despite other visitors trying to help pull HA away, the ape proved too strong and even grabbed him by the legs at one point.
The orangutan eventually let HA go, and the zoo visitor can count himself lucky he wasn’t injured during the struggle.
It seems HA uploaded the video to TikTok for clout regardless, but he soon faced backlash for disturbing the orangutan.
Yesterday, zoo officials visited HA’s home demanding an apology for the incident. The teenager then posted his mea culpa in video form, in which he said he only approached the orangutan enclosure for fun and for social media content.
“He said he was doing it for fun. But that kind of fun could have endangered him, and he didn’t know that,” Kasang Kulim Zoo manager Desrizal said yesterday evening.
Other than living in a zoo, the orangutan is reportedly doing just fine.
