Search

In Pictures : An Orangutan Stole a GoPro Camera, Then Took Selfies

In Pictures : An Orangutan Stole a GoPro Camera, Then Took Selfies
(illustration) Baby orangutan © WWF Australia

Wildlife photographer Ian Wood has been capturing great apes in the wild for decades, but when a young orangutan discovered his hidden camera on a recent Borneo trip he got some truly unexpected results. On a recent annual fundraising trip to Tanjung Puting national park in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, Ian got some unexpected, close-up results.

Keterangan Gambar (© Pemilik Gambar)

He decided to hide a GoPro camera near to where orangutans often appear, hoping to get some close-up wide-angle images of them in the forest. He figured that in the worse case, if an orangutan found his camera it would realise it wasn’t food and discard it.

Well, he wishes.

A three-year-old orangutan picked it up and showed high level of interest. Then, the unexpected happened.

Credit to Ian Wood
Credit to Ian Wood

After cracking the LCD screen, the orangutan accidentally took hundreds and hundreds of photos by pressing the main button. Ian watched through his iPhone which was connected to the camera by setting up a wifi connection. After about 30 minutes the orangutan ran off with it up a tree. Eventually he dropped the GoPro.

Keterangan Gambar (© Pemilik Gambar)
Keterangan Gambar (© Pemilik Gambar)
Keterangan Gambar (© Pemilik Gambar)
Keterangan Gambar (© Pemilik Gambar)

Keterangan Gambar (© Pemilik Gambar)

On this trip, run in partnership with the Orangutan Foundation UK, I was guiding a group of seven people to photograph the wildlife here and help raise money for conservation in the area.

This article had been modified from Theguardian.com titled "An orangutan stole my camera and took close-up selfies – in pictures" published on Dec 6, 2017. All pictures are courtesy of Ian Wood.

Akhyari Hananto

I began my career in the banking industry in 1997, and stayed approx 6 years in it. This industry boost his knowledge about the economic condition in Indonesia, both macro and micro, and how to More understand it. My banking career continued in Yogyakarta when I joined in a program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB),as the coordinator for a program aimed to help improve the quality of learning and teaching process in private universities in Yogyakarta. When the earthquake stroke Yogyakarta, I chose to join an international NGO working in the area of ?disaster response and management, which allows me to help rebuild the city, as well as other disaster-stricken area in Indonesia. I went on to become the coordinator for emergency response in the Asia Pacific region. Then I was assigned for 1 year in Cambodia, as a country coordinator mostly to deliver developmental programs (water and sanitation, education, livelihood). In 2009, he continued his career as a protocol and HR officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya, and two years later I joined the Political and Economic Section until now, where i have to deal with extensive range of people and government officials, as well as private and government institution troughout eastern Indonesia. I am the founder and Editor-in-Chief in Good News From Indonesia (GNFI), a growing and influential social media movement, and was selected as one of The Most Influential Netizen 2011 by The Marketeers magazine. I also wrote a book on "Fundamentals of Disaster Management in 2007"?, "Good News From Indonesia : Beragam Prestasi Anak Bangsa di dunia"? which was luanched in August 2013, and "Indonesia Bersyukur"? which is launched in Sept 2013. In 2014, 3 books were released in which i was one of the writer; "Indonesia Pelangi Dunia"?, "Indonesia The Untold Stories"? and "Growing! Meretas Jalan Kejayaan" I give lectures to students in lectures nationwide, sharing on full range of issues, from economy, to diplomacy Less
View all posts

Thank you for reading until here