Adelaide Zoo
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Kluet the orangutan releases debut single

There’s a new big name on the Adelaide music scene, and he’s sure to have fans going ape!

Today, Kluet, Adelaide Zoo’s Sumatran Orangutan, releases his debut single to mark World Orangutan Day.

The music industry has been abuzz with anticipation for the exclusive release of Give me a Klue, Kluet’s first foray into the jazz scene.

Recorded on his keeper’s phone using the Garage Band app, the single will be sold on the Zoos SA website, with all funds going towards enrichment, medical and husbandry items for Adelaide Zoo’s three resident Sumatran Orangutans.

Kluet’s producer, aka primate keeper Pij Olijnyk, said he and Kluet had been working hard to perfect the orangutan’s sound.

“Orangutans are incredibly intelligent, so we are always looking for new ways to interact with them and make their day, interesting, challenging and fun,” Pij said.

“Kluet loves playing Garage Band on my phone, and it’s pretty clear he has some real musical talent!

“When I first heard the song, I knew he had created something pretty special.”

The single is available for purchase on the Zoos SA online store and we are asking shoppers to choose what they want to pay to help support our conservation work.

Whether it’s $1 or $1 million dollars, every cent we raise will be vital in helping us continue our important work caring for these amazing creatures and saving species from extinction.

The release of Kluet’s song coincides with World Orangutan Day, an annual event aimed at drawing attention to the plight of orangutans in the wild.

With just 7,000 Sumatran Orangutans estimated to be left in the wild, figures suggest this critically endangered species could become extinct within the next ten years as the population continues to decline by as many as 1,000 a year.

As a conservation charity, Zoos SA is doing its bit to help save orangutans in the wild. Through our partnership with Wildlife Asia, we support habitat protection and rescue efforts for this iconic species.

Considered to be the most intelligent of the great apes and sharing 97 per cent of their DNA with us, orangutans and humans share undeniable similarities in our emotional, intellectual and physical abilities.

In fact, the word Orangutan actually means people of the forest in the Malay language, a very apt description.

Kluet was born on 18 July 1995 at Jersey Zoo in the UK, arriving at Adelaide Zoo in May 2007. He is the perfect gentlemen and tends to be on the shy side in comparison to his outgoing house-mate Karta, who definitely wears the pants in the relationship.

MC073 - Kluet CD Cover v2