A male orangutan at Zurich Zoo named Awang has been introduced to six new females in the hope of boosting the species' numbers.

Zurich, Switzerland - April 25, 2024

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A stud Sumatran orangutan has been given his own harem of six females in a one-ape bid to help save the endangered species.

Awang has been drafted in by keepers at Switzerland's Zurich Zoo with the intention of boosting the troop's birth rate.

The 12-year-old ape was a rising dominant male at his previous home in Germany and experts at his new zoo are hoping he can fill the same role there.

Video footage obtained from the zoo on 29th May shows how Awang was kept in quarantine for a month and not allowed to join his new girlfriends until after a series of health checks.

As Awang swung through the compound, some of his suspicious new females were seen keeping their distance.

Finally, he seems to settle in with one new orangutan mum, who cautiously allows him to share some food.