Orangutan the Gentle Giant!

Watch this amazing video footage of an orangutan saving a baby coot from a pond in his enclosure.

For a moment, it looked as though an orangutan was craving a mid-day snack when it plucked a baby coot chick from the water in its enclosure.

But dramatic footage shows the caring orangutan appearing to kiss life into its new friend, after finding it floundering in the water, abandoned by its mother.

The five-minute video, recorded by a visitor at Dublin Zoo, begins with the orangutan sitting on a rock before it sees the baby bird in a pond below and moves in for a closer look.

A spokesman from the Orangutan Foundation said it is not unknown for the apes to eat small mammals and eggs.

Cathy Smith, from the Orangutan Foundation, said after seeing the clip, ‘They are very intelligent animals and can be very inquisitive.

‘Although they mainly eat fruit, it is not unknown for orangutans to eat small mammals and eggs.

‘But this shows how chilled out and good at problem solving these amazing creatures are.

‘It’s hard to say whether he knew he would be saving the chick but you never know. I have never heard of anything like this before.’

Happy Ending! The baby chick re-united with his mother