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Primate Pals -- Gibbon And Orangutan -- Meet, Hang At Brookfield Zoo

Gibbon, Orangutan Pals
Thani, a 3-year-old white cheeked gibbon at Brookfield Zoo, helped himself to some of his new friend's lettuce. Recently, Thani has been making daily visits to the peninsula in the zoo's Tropic World Asia exhibit to visit, Kekasih, a 4-year-old orangutan.(Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society)

BROOKFIELD (CBS) – Visitors at Brookfield Zoo are witnessing the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Recently, a young and agile white-cheeked gibbon named Thani found his way into an area of the Tropic World Asia exhibit where orangutans reside separately. There, he met Kekasih, a 4-year-old orangutan, and the two have hit it off, zoo officials say.

In fact, Thani regularly jumps from high trees to make his way to Kekasih.  The zoo released video and still pictures Friday that show the two creatures frolicking together.

The species would normally share the same habitat in the wild, zoo officials said.

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