Years ago, the brilliant author Terry Pratchet did a UK TV show on the Orangutans - as his University Librarian (Ook!) is of course one of them.

The team had the idea of finding a male Orangutan in the deep forest and holding up a white sheet behind it to get some publicity photos.

So off they went for quite an arduous trek. Finally, late in the day they heard some rustling in the bushes and waited expectantly. Out of the forest came a massive wall of lumbering muscle (Male Orangutans are much bigger than the female ones you often see on TV) with huge powerful arms and hands. As this massive specimen was filmed for the show everyone kept deathly quiet and on the commentary Sir Terry said something similar to “we were all in awe of this magnificent creature and there was a very clear understanding between us and him that NOBODY would be messing about with a White Sheet”.

Footnote: Some years before his untimely death Terry Pratchet was asked live on BBC News 24 would he take any experimental drugs to deal with his condition, to which he replied "Frankly my dear I would chew the arse off a dead mole if it would make any difference."

Still must rate as the best reply on any international news program....

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