Humans and orangutans share more than 97 per cent of the same DNA – maybe that can explain Rajang the orangutan’s emotional response to seeing other-to-be Kayley Bettany’s 37-week bump.
This footage was shot in January at Colchester Zoo in the UK but animal lovers in their thousands have viewed this moving video in the past few days.
In the video you see the 48-year-old Rajang totally captivated by Kayley’s pregnant belly. He moves in to kiss it and then tries to caress it.
Kayley’s husband, Kieran, who posted the video on YouTube, said: “Me and my wife who was 7 months pregnancy went to Colchester zoo and this orangutan fell in love with her bump. This was a wonderful experience however upsetting at the same time. He even had a tear run down his face.”
This video on YouTube has been viewed more than 650,000 times but via Facebook more than 16 million times.
Kayley’s husband, Kieran, who posted the video on YouTube, said: “Me and my wife who was 7 months pregnancy went to Colchester zoo and this orangutan fell in love with her bump. This was a wonderful experience however upsetting at the same time. He even had a tear run down his face.”
This video on YouTube has been viewed more than 650,000 times but via Facebook more than 16 million times. The Bettany’s have since gone on to have a baby daughter Brooke who has already gone to the zoo to visit Rajang
Kayley and Kieran Bettany with baby Brooke. PHOTO: Facebook
It’s not the first time Rajang has been enamoured with a pregnant belly. The Daily Mail reports that mum-to-be Maisie Knight pushed her bump up to the glass last year and the primate leant in for a kiss.
Rajang arrived at the zoo in 1980 from Chester Zoo. He is a hybrid, meaning he is part-Bornean and part-Sumatran.
He had been hand-reared by his keepers at Chester when his mother died when he was just one-month-old.
According to the Colchester Zoo website, Rajang is totally adored: “Rajang loves to be involved and imitates us when we are cleaning his enclosure. We often give him a cloth and bucket of soapy water so he can clean his windows whilst we clean the rest of the area! One time, Rajang was caught watching our gardeners planting some flowers, so we gave him some plant pots and peat, as well as some leafy twigs and thin branches, and watched to see what he would do. Rajang put the peat in the plant pots, and then cleverly planted the twigs!”
