There's a headline you don't get to read every day.

Why did the orangutan go into the water? Stupid humans, of course.

This whole ordeal played out at a zoo in Vietnam, and the rescue was quite dramatic.

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via Reddit
via Reddit
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According to Metro News, the orangutan was chilling out at Vinpearl Safari in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, minding his own business, when (according to the Reddit post) a visitor to the zoo decided to throw food to the primate.

As you can see in the photograph above, there is a relatively large moat around the orangutan enclosure. That moat serves 2 purposes.

First, it is to discourage any zoo visitors from trying to enter the enclosure. I mean, who is willing to get soaking wet before being ripped apart by an orangutan?

Second, the moat (it's water, specifically) is there to discourage the orangutans from trying to venture out of the enclosure.

Naturally, orangutans avoid both people and water.

But when food thrown at the orangutans proves to be too much of a temptation, an orangutan WILL risk water entry. And, as you can see in the video, this was the case.

Someone (according to Reddit) threw food into the enclosure, but the food landed in the moat. The orangutan, unable to resist the temptation, ventures into the water and quickly goes under.

via Reddit
via Reddit
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Soon after the ape entered the water, it began to struggle. As you can see in the photo below, all you can see in the water is the orangutan's outreached arm, appearing as a silent cry for help.

via Reddit
via Reddit
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According to New Scientist, orangutans are not great swimmers. Due to their body density, these apes will sink almost immediately after entering the water. This dynamic instills a natural fear of water in orangutans.

By the time a zoo employee reached the enclosure, the orangutan was completely submerged and totally unresponsive.

After throwing in a rescue ring, the employee jumped into the water. He had to dive a few times to locate the orangutan before pulling it to the embankment.

via Reddit
via Reddit
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He was then able to pull the primate from the water and up the steep embankment to immediately begin CPR.

via Reddit
via Reddit
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via Reddit
via Reddit
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You can see the whole ordeal unravel in the videos below.

The video ended before the orangutan responded but, according to the story, the orangutan is now in stable condition.

My hat is off to that zoo employee. Not only did he put himself in danger of drowning, but having the ability to pull that huge ape up the embankment to secure a better area for CPR is amazing.

The following video from Metro News shows an extended version of the above video.

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