An ape in action grips TikTok with some funny monkey business

Los Angeles, California - An inventive orangutan living at the Los Angeles Zoo is making millions of TikTok users grin, as a viral video of the animal grabbing a baby's bottle has gripped the internet.

A toddler dropped his bottle at the zoo, and when it bounced super close to the orangutan enclosure, it gave the primates an idea.
A toddler dropped his bottle at the zoo, and when it bounced super close to the orangutan enclosure, it gave the primates an idea.  © Screenshot/TikTok/cashinthecity

TikTok is going bananas for this little one's smarts!

TikToker CaShawna Wright caught an orangutan's awesome moves on camera at the Los Angeles Zoo during a trip in mid-February.

"My son dropped his bottle near the orangutans at the zoo," she captioned the clip of her "eventful day."

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She told Yahoo! Life she was filming because as she, her one-year-old son Cruse, and her friend walked by the orangutans' enclosure, the animals were causing a stir with the visitors.

"The orangutans were humping each other," CaShawna explained.

CaShawn's son was so excited by the primates that he threw his bottle. It bounced and rolled into a pool of water just a few feet from the apes' fence. An orangutan immediately noticed the toddler's cup.

"I never expected what would happen next," said CaShawna.

The clever ape makes a fishing rod out of paper, which it uses to push the bottle toward it.
The clever ape makes a fishing rod out of paper, which it uses to push the bottle toward it.  © Collage:Sscreenshot/TikTok/cashinthecity
The orange ape takes a celebratory sip of the baby's bottle.
The orange ape takes a celebratory sip of the baby's bottle.  © Collage: Screenshot/TikTok/cashinthecity

The viral orangutan uses paper to grab the baby bottle in TikTok clip

Orangutans are smart, and know how to use what's at hand to get what they want. In the case of a viral TikTok video, a baby's lost bottle (stock image).
Orangutans are smart, and know how to use what's at hand to get what they want. In the case of a viral TikTok video, a baby's lost bottle (stock image).  © 123rf/dmosreg

CaShawna's viral clip shows two apes in the enclosure as they become fascinated by the baby bottle floating in the water in front of them. They quickly realize that they can't quite reach it.

But that doesn't dissuade the primates. One grabs some paper, rolls it up, and uses it to slap and move the water, like a makeshift paddle or hook. The perseverance brings the bottle toward the animals.

Talk about an ingenious ape with a knack for homemade tools!

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As soon as the bottle floats to the fence, the orangutan grabs it and takes a celebratory swig.

"We didn't get his bottle back," CaShawna joked in the clip's captions.

But the loss didn't matter to Cruse and his mom.

"When I looked down at him, he just had a big ol’ smile on his face and was looking around and clapping and smiling at the people," CaShawna said of her son and the unusual experience.

The clip boasts over 23 million views and more than 2.8 million likes, as viewers can't get enough of the fun monkey business!

Cover photo: Collage: screenshot/TikTok/cashinthecity & dmosreg/123rf

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