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February 13, 2010

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I just want somebody to love...

AN orangutan in eastern China is the star of a video which his keepers hope will find him a soul mate.

They've distributed the video in the hope it will be shown on various Chinese Websites.

Eleven-year-old Le Shen has been looking for his better half for more than five years. He recently grew sulky and lonely, said his keepers at Hongshan Forest Zoo in Nanjing City.

They said if any orangutan in another zoo was also experiencing the loneliness Le Shen was suffering, they would be happy to arrange a meeting. Or they could first get to know each other via a video link.

Le Shen is the first artificially bred orangutan in China. He has been living in the Nanjing zoo since he was six and his breeders have been seeking a companion for him ever since.

"He has lost his interest in all the toys we put in the cage," Le Shan's keeper said. "If they can not mate, a purely spiritual friendship would be good too."

With only around 6,000 orangutans living around the world, the hunt for a soul mate is a daunting one. Not many zoo owners would agree to send a rare animal to another zoo.




 

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