Orangutan At Japanese Zoo Cools Itself With Towel (VIDEO)

Somebody may want to show this video to Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann.

An orangutan at Japan's Tama Zoo delighted visitors with its cooling off skills, dipping a towel into a pool, wringing it out, dabbing its face and upper body, and repeating.

It may sound basic, but it's pretty amazing to watch the ape in action.

And when the towel-keeper wouldn't share with a smaller orangutan? Check out what the little one did to prove a towel wasn't needed to stay cool.

Multiple studies have shown wild orangutans use "found objects" like branches to swat bees, leaves to protect their hands from spiny fruit and collections of leafy sticks to create an umbrella-type tool.

Another study observed captive orangutans using raw materials provided to them to perform tasks such as removing raisins from wooden blocks.

It's easy to see why the "orangutan" is also know as the "person of the forest."

Earlier this year, the Girl Scouts organization came under fire for supporting palm oil plantations, which are said to threaten the orangutan population.

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Comments

[Carole C Good]

01:09 AM on 08/27/2011

Dolphins are known to be smart. Many pet owners say that the most intelligent animal they know is their dog and/ or cat. I believe all animals are a lot smarter than we think.
From my observation most animals understand concepts like relationships, fairness, and sharing with others. They also seem to understand emotion. All animals seem to have natural creative abilities. They invent, plan, and contemplate.
Scientists have found that baby chimps’ mental development can even be more advanced than children of the same age. As quiet as it's kept, most animals are just as curious, capable and social as the average human.
A Harvard study in 2007 found that orangutans and gorillas had the greatest power to learn quickly and solve problems of all animals. They teach one another how to survive.
I believe we can learn many, surprisingly, valuable lessons by observing the beauty and grace of nature and the animal kingdom.

[cagog]

08:49 PM on 08/22/2011

this is why you teach them, because they will evolve faster

[cagog]

08:47 PM on 08/22/2011

This is why you teach a orangutan, they will evolve faster and become more intelligent.

[loyalist1]

08:07 PM on 08/22/2011

Notice that the older ape DOES NOT share its idea with the smaller, younger one, which would seem to be the liberal thing to.......
Oh, well, forget it!

[cagog]

06:02 PM on 08/22/2011

Evolution is awesome. they gave us Jurassic park

[Ainsaade]

05:29 PM on 08/22/2011

That's just incredible. Wow.

[DANIMUL]

05:17 PM on 08/22/2011

BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, IT WILL HAVE AN N.B.A. UNIFORM ON

[Taymullah]

01:39 AM on 08/23/2011

yea this isnt racist...

[cagog]

04:55 PM on 08/22/2011

That's the orangutan from Rise of the Planet of the Apes: he's teaching it's young how to destroy the humans and regain the planet. Beware of them...BEWARE!... or thier intelligence will make you stupid. Evolution has begun Bwahahahahahaha

[crayola 08b]

01:53 PM on 08/22/2011

wow. seeing him wring that towel was awesome... and yet kinda creepy at the same time.

[AKQueenie]

01:41 PM on 08/22/2011

I want one!!!

[Rambling Ruminations]

07:59 AM on 08/22/2011

I could watch him wring the towel all day long and not get bored!

[Max Shaw]

01:37 PM on 08/22/2011

yeah, its a pretty slow Monday here too!

[Rambling Ruminations]

02:42 PM on 08/22/2011

LOL! Actually, I passed the link around to scores of people at work including the grumpy lady who manages all the forms and they all seemed !DELIGHTED!

[USADragonRev]

11:38 PM on 08/21/2011

Now if homeboy rolled it up like a towel-whip and snapped junior in the behind, I'd be super impressed.

[tod47]

09:33 PM on 08/21/2011

the video would be complete if the orangutan wiped his brow and said ohh lordy is it hot today

[Asmodean1]

10:19 AM on 08/22/2011

Or looked at the camera and simply said "let me out of this cage".

[Vic22]

08:29 PM on 08/21/2011

You can't fool me! I know that's you, Andy Serkis!

[tshields424]

08:11 PM on 08/21/2011

To those who question the evidence for evolution and instead accept Creationism according to the Bible:
Where is YOUR proof that we just popped onto the scene magically, from dust no less, 6,000 years ago in our current form?
Seems to me one argument has just a bit more going for it than the other.

[Asmodean1]

10:20 AM on 08/22/2011

You have to have faith - you have to believe.

[Puffin16]

03:15 PM on 08/22/2011

Perhaps you should read your micro-bio again.

[traceymarie]

06:14 PM on 08/22/2011

faith is not science and the argument of "just because" is childish

[personal beliefs]

02:56 PM on 08/22/2011

You do realize that believing in evolution also means that we came from dust don't you?

[tshields424]

03:40 PM on 08/22/2011

Came from dust? Not exactly. And certainly not the way the Bible tells it. Are we carbon-based organisms? Yes. Is there carbon found in dust? Yes? Were we molded out of it magically? No. By the time living organisms first appearded on this planet, it was in a liquid environment. No dust. If you have another version of events, I'd love to hear it.

[DANIMUL]

05:20 PM on 08/22/2011

I THINK THAT YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER WILL DISAGREE WITH YOUR TOTAL STUPIDITY - IT'S CALLED SEX
ALSO YOU ARE WRONG ABOUT YOUR FORM OF EVOLUTION, WE EVOLVED FROM 1 CELL ANIMALS - IF NOT FROM A DISTANT PLANET WHICH MAKES MORE SENSE