This fun-loving orangutan is having the time of her life as she is snapped swinging from a rope with one arm and one leg outstretched sporting a joyous grin that is plastered across her adorable auburn face.
Birthday girl Natalia, who turned four last week, is certainly living up to the phrase ‘monkeying around’ and has proven she is the Queen of the swingers as she was captured in a playful mood and flashed a beaming smile.
The snaps of the Bornean Orangutan having a wild time were taken at Paignton Zoo by a regular zoo visitor.
Birthday girl Natalia (pictured), who turned four last week, is living up to the phrase ‘monkeying around’ and has proven she is the Queen of the swingers in these snaps taken by a regular zoo visitor
In one of the images the cheeky acrobat is photographed hanging upside down with her tongue sticking out, while others show her dangling from a rope by one foot.
In another, taken last week, Natalia was captured celebrating her birthday with presents and a tasty corn on the cob.
And mum Chinta is always close by, and can be seen giving her bundle of joy a helping hand on the rope.
The photographer, who wishes to remain unnamed, said the images of her swinging were taken in April and only shared now to mark her birthday.
This fun-loving baby orangutan is having the time of her life as she is snapped swinging from a rope with one arm and one leg outstretched sporting a joyous grin that is plastered across her auburn face
Natalia was captured celebrating her birthday with presents and a tasty corn on the cob
He said: ‘She recently celebrated her fourth birthday so I shared some images of her having a good time. She is clearly enjoying herself.
‘You can see by her face she’s enjoying having a swing. She looks like she has is having fun and her tongue is out.
‘She had been foraging with her mother Chinta previously, but as to why she started swinging I can only assume she was in a playful mood. She’s just like a child.
‘When Natalia’s not playing she spends a lot of time with her mum Chinta.’
Mum Chinta is close by, and can be seen giving her bundle of joy a helping hand on the rope
The photographer loves taking photos of orangutans ‘because they are so similar to humans’
She perches on a leafy tree stump to catch her breath and poses with her hands thrown forward.
Her mandarin hair glistens in the stream of sunlight and looks like specs of glitter down her torso as she stares directly into the camera with a slight grimace.
And it’s not long before she’s back in the trees, twisting and turning with her mouth wide open in pure excitement as she darts across her enclosure having a whale of a time.
She perches on a leafy tree stump to catch her breath and poses with her hands thrown forward as she looks directly into the camera with a slight grimace
It’s not long before she’s back in the trees, twisting and turning with her mouth wide open in pure excitement as she darts across her enclosure having a whale of a time
The snapper said orangutans are one of his favourite animals to photograph.
He said: ‘Everyone loves the apes because they are so similar to humans.’
The population of the Bornean Orangutan, which has a broader face than the Sumatran Orangutan, has declined by 50 per cent over the past 60 years.