The Potentially Terrifying Intelligence of the Orangutan

Comments · 8.2K

• IN

  @inverse_contradiction · 1 year ago

  The concept of an orangutan mumbling “no one will ever believe you” to a young human child is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard. I really have no concern of whether this really happened or not, I’m just happy to have the image in my mind

  32K

• IT

  @ItsAVolcano · 1 year ago (edited)

  One reason orangutans weren&apos;t traditionally seen as so smart is they often scored 2nd lowest among the great apes in early intelligence tests, with only Gorillas taking longer to solve problems. Eventually reanalysis of the data revealed that while they may take longer, the orangutans also had a far higher success rate when they actually tried to solve the various puzzles researchers had set up. Rather than trial and error they would analyze the situation and come up with a far more measured and logical problem solving methods.<br><br>Or in simple terms, orangutans have really good long-term contemplative intelligence. Basically, exactly the kind of thinking needed to plan a murder.

  15K

• KA

  @KaeHatdork · 1 year ago

  Imagine being one of the first people to interact with orangutans and you go back to your village or whatever trying to tell people about the weird mute ginger hobo living in the woods nearby.

  13K

• CH

  @ChrisVillagomez · 4 months ago (edited)

  Orangutans stealing the kayaks and a speedboat really reminds me of the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi stealing a speeder bike, an AT-ST Walker, and blasters.<br><br>There was an old orangutan at the Toledo Zoo when I was a kid that I can&apos;t remember the name of, and he was so friendly to us everytime we went. I used to wave to him and he&apos;d wave back, and if he saw me standing at the glass of the indoor portion of the inclosure, he&apos;d either look up and interact with me, or just straight-up get up/stop what he was doing to come sit down next to me. I remember being able to put my hand against the glass while he did the same like a neverending high five. Looking back on it, I always feel incredibly lucky to have been able to experience that with the old-timer.<br><br>He passed away a few years ago now and he was pretty well-known I think. I wasn&apos;t able to visit the Zoo as much as I got older (the last time I was able to go was before they completely redid the aquarium and that was like 10 years ago now minimum), but I like to think that Orang was just as friendly with other kids as he was with me, and that their interactions helped shape their view of animals like it did mine. Hope you&apos;re hanging out with Steve Irwin somewhere buddy

  76

• BR

  @Brianna-eo8nu · 1 year ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHf7UToRrIs&amp;t=845">14:05</a> an Orangutan and an Elephant becoming friends and breaking out of a zoo with a gang of wolves is a prison break movie I never thought I needed till now.

  8.8K

• RH

  @Rhyder77 · 1 year ago

  Orangutans are the embodiment of that old quote: &quot;to be peaceful, you must be capable of violence, otherwise you&apos;re not peaceful, you&apos;re harmless&quot;

  25K

• IC

  @icarusbinns3156 · 1 year ago

  I accidentally taught the Denver Zoo orangutans about masks. In 2020, I went to the zoo for my birthday. One of the younger females was sitting by the enclosure window, looking confused at all the people. She couldn’t understand these new faces. I got her attention, pulled down my mask, then tugged it back up. She shifted closer to the window… so I repeated the action. It took a couple more times until I saw that light of understanding in her eyes. She scrambled to get her blanket, &nbsp;came back, flipped the blanket over her face, then yanked it off. She was delighted to learn that these ‘new’ visitors were still people, just wearing something new. <br>…And she taught all the other orangutans. Who would try to grab the zookeepers’ masks. The Zoo later posted, “We don’t know who taught them about masks. Thank you, we think? At least they’re no longer as wary, now they’re just curious”

  9K

• DA

  @Dadang_Supardji · 4 months ago

  It&apos;s so funny when he says &quot;Observing/watching other orangs&quot; because in Indonesian, that&apos;s basically mean &quot;Observing other people&quot;

  220

• WY

  @Wynneception · 1 year ago

  Not a single person can convince me Orangutans don’t meet every meaningful criteria we could come up with for what constitutes personhood. They aren’t humans, but they’re people.

  2.2K

• PA

  @paballomolata8844 · 1 year ago

  That honestly explains why the wise elder or intellectual in the Planet of the Apes movies is an Orangutan

  12K

• LY

  @lyssentome · 1 year ago

  the concept of an orangutan named &quot;Kembali&quot; (Indonesian for &quot;return/returning&quot;) being a frequent escapee... chef&apos;s kiss. exquisite. the jokes truly write themselves.

  2.5K

• NA

  @naturalselectionlolz · 8 months ago

  &quot;giant ginger tree hippies&quot; is definitely a name for them💀

  172