Thursday, June 11, 2009

Meet the Swimming Orangutans

In general, apes hate the water. Orangutans were generally thought to be like the gorilla, the chimp, and the rest. But one population, in Borneo, has become very fond of water. They don't just go in after food (we've recently learned that some gorillas will wade into water after a favorite snack). These orangs play. They roll in mud, dip into the water from tree branches, and sometimes wade in and then actually swim. These amazing photos make it clear orangs will do nearly everything humans will do in a swimming hole.

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