Orangutans mark New Year in style<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Who says that New Year's Day is only celebrated
\nby human beings? Of our closest primate relatives, 28 orangutans
\nwhich live in Jakarta's Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta celebrated
\nthe coming of 1995 yesterday in their own style.<\/p>\n
They rode a small decorated carriage pulled by a pony and ate
\ntheir favorite foods -- coconuts, bananas, rambutan, peanuts --
\nand drank aqua and even soda water! Some of them even chewed the
\npaper decorations on their Christmas tree.<\/p>\n
The celebration, attended by dozens of expatriates and a few
\nof Indonesians, wasn't only a happy moment for the apes but for
\nchildren and adults as well who found the orangutans gentle,
\nsweet and harmless. The animals played in Von Mengden's yard
\nwhere there was a nicely decorated Christmas tree. They also
\nallowed the visitors to touch, carry, and even cuddle them (photo
\nabove).<\/p>\n
\"Today they can eat as much as they want, it's their party,\"
\nsaid organizer Ulla Von Mengden.<\/p>\n
Von Mengden, who has lived in Indonesia for 28 years and now
\noccupies a house in the zoo compound, told The Jakarta Post that
\nit was the tenth party she had held for the orangutans. Initially
\nshe celebrated it with just the orangutans but later started
\ninviting human friends and others interested in the primates.<\/p>\n
\"Now, whenever I hold such a party, there are many people I
\ndon't know who come too. It's good, the more the merrier,\" said
\nGerman-born Von Mengden who wishes to be reincarnated as an
\norangutan.(als)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/orangutans-mark-new-year-in-style-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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