There's Now A 'Tinder For Orangutans' And It's The Most Adorable Thing Ever
Tinder has had so many success stories that a Dutch zoo is now using it when it comes to finding true orangutan love.
Appropriately named 'Tinder for orangutans,' this four-year experiment will follow female orangutan Samboja as she's provided pictures of her potential primate suitors on a touchscreen, according to The Week.
The hope is that, while 11-year-old Samboja selects a good mate well before meeting him, researchers can learn more about the mating patterns of orangutans.
Similar to humans, going on dates and matching with a complete dud is a waste of time. Scientists hope that this breeding program will lead to a higher success rate when it comes to matching up cute, little orangutans.
"Often animals have to be taken back to the zoo they came from without mating," said the Dutch zoo's behavioral biologist Thomas Bionda. "Things don't always go well when a male and female first meet."
So far, the experiment has been going fairly well, with a few bumps here and there.
A previous test involving chimpanzees and bonobos proved the animals were extremely responsive when presented with photos of their own species mating or grooming others.
But, as orangutans are less superficial than us human folk, they sometimes need more than a pretty picture to find the perfect partner.
"Usually, smell plays an important role too," Bionda said of orangutan's matchmaking criteria. "But with the orangutans, it will be what you see is what you get."
Currently, scientists are trying to design a strong enough screen that will keep the orangutans from damaging the touchscreen.
Even with a steel support frame, the tablet didn't survive long in the hands of Samboja, according to The Guardian. Clearly, any orangutan whose mother has the nickname "Demolition Woman" should be monitored at all times.
It'll be pretty interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years.
Who knows? Maybe the orangutan will become a better Tinder swiper than I am?
Game on, Samboja.
Citations: A Dutch zoo has created 'Tinder for orangutans' (The Week), 'Tinder for orangutans': Dutch zoo to let female choose mate on a tablet (The Guardian)
