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Zoo Keeper Accused of Impregnating Female Orangutan
INDONESIA – A zoo keeper at Surabaya zoo has been arrested and charged with sexual assault on a number of animals and impregnating a female orangutan.
Zoo's security officials caught the 38-year-old zoo keeper on tape in full action by hidden cameras, which they placed after doubts emerged about the man's devious actions towards the zoo animals.
"When it was time to feed, some animals seemed sexually aroused" explains Akhiroel Yahya, an employee of the zoo "But what made us most suspicious was when we discovered Marylin, our oldest orangutan, was pregnant. She has never been in contact with any other orangutans because of her aggressive nature, so it didn't make any sense" he acknowledges, visibly troubled by the news.
Authorities became highly suspicious when Marylin, the zoo's eldest female orangutan, was found pregnant.
The zoo officials admit it took them sometime before being able to explain what had actually happened.
"At first, we clearly did not comprehend what had happened," admits the zoo's director, Abdoel Hakim. "Marilyn has been secluded for the past 10 years, it was a total mystery," he acknowledges. "It is only when we placed several hidden cameras that we learned the horrible truth" he admits, visibly angered by the whole situation.
When confronted by local authorities, the offender denied any wrong doing on his part.
"He said everything he had done was consensual," explains police chief Abubakar Jaar. "He said he loved each and everyone of the animals and was very sorry he had impregnated the orangutan," he told local reporters. "He says he did not know orangutans could get pregnant from humans," he added.
Many experts believe the man could not have impregnated the female orangutan, but some specialists claim a rare genetic predisposition could explain the unexplainable.
Surabaya zoo, Indonesia's largest zoo, repeatedly made headlines in 2012 because of its scandalous treatment of its animals after a former employee of the zoo claimed that over 50 animals had died at the zoo during the three months since he had been hired.