Orang-utans can swim

London, March 20 (ANI): The assumptions that orang-utans prefer to remain at bay from water seem to have fallen flat after a group was snapped getting wet for various reasons.

Conservationists were stunned when a group of orphaned orang-utans that had been relocated to Kaja Island in Borneo splashed themselves with one pair even having sex in water.

"My guess is that the male chose the location because there was less chance of him being interrupted by other, more dominant males," New Scientist quoted Anne Russon of York University in Toronto, Canada, as saying.

Russon continued: "Orang-utans are famous for their fear of water. They have high body densities and can't help but sink."

Russon added: "One day we saw an adolescent orang-utan called Sif wade into deep water, hunker down and then lunge forward making simple paddling movements with her arms and legs. It was kind of like a bad dog paddle."

The study has been published in the Journal of Comparative Psychology. (ANI)