KOTA KINABALU: The heat is catching up with the wildlife.
An orang utan was caught in a hilarious viral video “raiding” a fridge to get himself cold drinks at the Keruing Cafe of the Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC) in Sabah’s east coast Sepilok in Sandakan.
The orang utan from the adjacent Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre is seen in the video picking out drink packets from the fridge and trying to get a sip of the cold drink.
“Due to the extremely hot weather today, an unexpected guest dropped by at the Keruing Cafe in RDC Sepilok, helped himself selectively with whatever was found in the fridge and left without paying!” Sabah Forest Department deputy conservator Dr Arthur Chung posted on his Facebook page.
He said the action of the orang utan which turned up at the cafe was caught on camera by Welfred Yudot, a staff of RDC. According to Chung, it was the second time an orang utan “intruded” into the cafe but this was the first time it went to help itself to the fridge.
“In the first incident, it came in and took some leftover drinks on the table. This first time, it did not stay long, just to quench its thirst and went off with some other food from the fridge. I guess maybe because of the hot weather,” he said.
Chung said the Sabah Wildlife Department that operates the Sepilok Orangutan Centre has been alerted about the visit.
He said they were not sure on the identity of the “intruder” which was likely to be part of the orang utan under rehabilitation at the Sepilok centre.
“RDC management has forwarded the video to the staff at the Sepilok Orangutan Centre,” he said.
Chung said he was told that the male orang utan was called “Boogie” by rangers at the rehabilitation centre.
Following Chung’s posting, Facebook user Ronald K. Asuncion commented: “This dude didn’t just ransack Keruing Cafe. He went all the way to our place at the MY Nature Resort... Even sat at the counter like he was the manager.”
Another user, Sabina Arokiam said: “Impressive... The guest only took what it needed and did not rummage through the entire loot or make a huge mess.
“Would have been even more impressive if it closed the door of the fridge after helping itself... but then again, maybe it kept the door open to let the others have a go as well.”
Martin Kong posted: “Sepilok is about orang utan. It’s all right they assert their rights once in a while. How we treat and take care of species in our care is a reflection of the kind of being we are.”
