Every Which Way But Loose

Humans think they’re so superior. They believe no animal is capable of outsmarting them.

Really? Then how do you explain my ability to escape from the backyard whenever I want? Does a mere wooden fence deter me? Does adding pavers at its base get me to stay within its boundaries? How about the addition of chicken wire?

The answers are no, no and no.

And why is that? Because I’m freakin’ brilliant. Imagine what I could do with opposable thumbs!

To further prove my point that all animals are not dopes, I give you exhibit B; Karta the orangutan.

A sharp-witted orangutan escaped from a zoo enclosure today by short-circuiting electric wires on a fence and then building a makeshift ladder.

But before the ingenious female ape, Karta, could continue with her brilliant escape plan she saw keepers standing by with tranquiliser guns, realised the game was up and jumped back into her enclosure.

‘We’re looking here at an animal that is extremely intelligent,’ said Mr Peter Whitehead, curator of Adelaide Zoo in South Australia.

‘She’s always trying to outsmart the keepers and today she showed a touch of genius.’

The 10-stone orangutan used a stick to twist together electric wires circling her enclosure, resulting in the power supply – which would have given her a jolt if she’d touched the live wires – being cut off.

She clambered through the fencing and entered a bushy area near a glass and concrete fence that separated her from the public.

After examining the height of the fence, she began piling sticks, grass and plant roots and used them as a ladder to climb onto the top of the fence.

‘We’ve had issues with her before in normal day-to-day operations, where she tries to outsmart the keepers,’ Mr Whitehead told News.com

Seems to me that’s not much of a challenge for her, but then again she’s only dealing with humans.