It has been about a year since this story has hit the internet, but I found that it was hard to piece together the truth from the fanciful. Ulitmately I have relied on what seemed to be the most reliable source: National Geographic. Suriya is an orangutan at the T.I.G.E.R.S. Preservation Stations in Myrtle Beach, SC. She like to take rides with the staff on one their elephants. They would go through the woods to a nearby neighborhood.
(Imagine looking out your house and seeing an orangutan riding an elephant down the street. I'm not one to bark at cars, but I would have to say hi to them.)
They would end up at a river where the elephant would take a dip.
On one of these trips, there was a blue tick hound dog by the river. Bhagavan 'Doc' Antle, director of T.I.G.E.R.S., noticed that Suriya and the dog were staring at each other. Suriya got down from the elephant, the dog runs up, and they jump into each others arms. They played and romped together as if they were old friends.
As they were leaveing the dog followed them back to the preserve. Doc tried many times to keep him out, but Roscoe, as he is now called, keep busting back in. Roscoe searched until he found the orangutan section. Suriya spotted him and took over some of her food. The two are now almost never apart. They are happy doing just about anything together. As you will see in the pictures below this includes swimming.
Friendship is invaluable in every species. This is a great reason to have two pets, so that they have a playmate when you have to be away. Animals are social and need others. People are really no different. I like how this story shows friendship can be found in some unexpected places.
There are other stories floating around about depression, sickness, and northern California. National Geographic and subsequently ABC News do not mention this part of the story, but someone else may know if they are accurate. If so, please leave a comment and link below.
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