A female orangutan shows off her sawing skills in a contest with an animatronic ‘spy orang.’
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TRANSCRIPT
At a jungle hut this female picks up a saw... Despite being totally wild, somehow she has worked out what to do with it... Like us, orangutans have an opposable thumb that enables them to grasp and handle objects with precision.
Over twenty years ago, a rescued orangutan learned how to saw by watching people constructing the huts here.
But this is a totally different and wild orangutan.
She seems to take pride in her work.
Even clearing away the saw dust!
In another sign of intelligence, she uses her feet as a vice to stop the branch from moving around.
Filming a wild-born and free-living orangutan mastering this complex task is remarkable.
But now she's not the only one sawing!
Spy Orangutan has joined her to help film the proceedings.
It seems to be bringing out a competitive streak - she's become even more enthusiastic.
But for a novice sawing is tiring work.
