iStockphoto / davidevison
A viral video from the Perth Zoo in Australia showing an orangutan launching an invading possum out of its tree house enclosure, through the air, and out of the exhibit has stunned countless animal lovers.
The video garnered so much attention the Perth Zoo has since responded to the footage. A spokesman for the Perth Zoo said their staff works tirelessly to prevent any animals from invading their exhibits but added “just as in other urban Perth areas, it’s not always possible to stop them.”
The Perth Zoo spokesman went on to say “The orangutan habitat is an outside environment and possums, who also live at height, just like the orangutans, have been known to inhabit the above-ground territories.” Adding “Whilst every effort is made to prevent them from entering, the sheer height provides some challenges and sometimes the orangutans evict the odd possum themselves.”
Here is the viral video of the Perth Zoo orangutan ejecting the invader (a possum) from its tree house enclosure.
@yahooaustralia #PerthZoo have responded after an #orangutan was seen throwing a #possum out of its enclosure 👀🦧 Video via #Reddit user/j___—-h. #yahoonews #yahooaustralia #perthzoowa #perthzoowesternaustralia #perth #australia
The video is also on YouTube:
Many viewers on TikTok were concerned about the health of the possum and feared for the worse. Alas, a Perth Zoo spokesman later told 7 News Australia possums as “very robust” creatures and added that the possum did survive being tossed through the air like a frisbee. So everyone can rest easily at night knowing the possum survived being cast into the sun like an old TV trope.
Fun facts about orangutans
Orangutans are brilliant animals. These great apes from Indonesia and Malaysia belong to the same family tree as us (Hominidae), share 97% of our human DNA, and have displayed remarkable intelligence:
There are actually three species of orangutans, Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli. They typically live between 30 and 40 years but can live up to 60 years in the wild. Sadly, there are believed to be less than 85,000 of them left in the wild and of that number, 70,000 are Bornean and only 800 are Tapanuli.
Their numbers have dwindled to the point of the species being critically endangered. Raising awareness of this incredible species goes a long way toward conservation, even if that means sharing videos of them chucking possums out of tree houses.