Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Orangutan Love

Nice story.
Schoolchildren gather in tight knots before Tujoh's big face. One of the kids makes a discovery, and soon everyone knows.

"Miss Walker! It kisses us! Look!"

"You should try taking a picture of it kissing me," another child says. "Hurry up."

"Take it! Take it!"

A debate erupts between two 9-year-olds on a spring break field trip.

"They should be in the wild," says the girl, Taylor Swierc.

"But look at the predators. They'd be eating them. So this is actually very good safety," says the boy, Caleb Evans.

"But these guys should be where they want to be," Taylor says. "They deserve to be free instead of in a cage."

Tujoh purses his lips over and over and gives kisses on the glass. Finally, he turns his head and looks to a corner of his enclosure.

"Make him kiss you," a kid says.

Tujoh turns back and touches his lips to the glass.

Hadiah, the third-most important orangutan in North America, lies curled on her side, watching.

Part 1 is here. Part 2, here.

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