Who’s ready to have a good cry? Everyone? Okay brace yourselves because we’re about to go on an emotional roller coaster, starting with one very selfless orangutan.
A series of photos shows the moment the orangutan offers a helping hand to a man standing in the river searching for snakes, who pose a threat to the animals – particularly if they’re venomous.
Presumably thinking he was in some sort of danger, the great ape reached out to assist the man, who was working as part of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, a non-profit organisation founded in 1991.
The photos were taken in a conservation forest area in Borneo, where the endangered species are protected from hunters. Anil Prabhakar was out trekking with his friends while on safari when he spotted the man in the river and snapped the photo.
He later found out he was clearing away snakes in an effort to guard the orangutans, a favour which was quickly returned when the helpful animal wanted to do its bit to protect the unknown man.
Those of you hoping for a wholesome ending to the images will be disappointed though, as it turns out the man actually refused the orangutan’s hand because it’s a wild animal and is therefore unpredictable.
Prabhakar, from Indonesia, explained:
Someone told him there was a snake in the river. The warden went there and cleared the bushes.
An orangutan came to the banks and was watching what he was doing. He then came closer and gave his hand.
The warden just moved away. I asked him why later and he said: ‘It’s a wild animal, not one we are familiar with’. But they are to protect them.
See? I told you it was an emotional roller coaster; I just hope you had the tissues at hand in preparation.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).