Video – Suryia The Orangutan & Roscoe The Dog

October 14, 2009 by garypope

You may have seen them on Oprah or in one of the emails that are making the rounds – Suryia the orangutan and Roscoe a Blue Tick hound became friends when they happened to cross paths at Myrtle Beach Safari a preserve for endangered animals in nearby (30 minutes from The Winds) Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Now they play together, swim together and Suryia even takes the dog for walks.

These two first met two years ago when Roscoe followed staff from The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S.) in Myrtle Beach home. He was immediately spotted by the orangutan who ambled over to make friends.
The founder of T.I.G.E.R.S., Dr Bhagavan Antle said: ‘Roscoe looked really thin and a little lost so we fed him and took care of him;
‘He followed us through the gate and ran over and found Suryia. As soon as he saw Roscoe, Suryia ran over to him and they started playing. It was unusual because dogs are usually scared of primates but they took to each other straight away. We made a few calls to see if he belonged to anyone and when no-one came forward, Roscoe ended up staying.’
These days Suryia acts as an animal ambassador helping raise baby primates at the preserve but likes nothing better than spending quality time with his canine buddy on his day off.
‘They will spend a few hours each day together rolling around, swimming,’ said Dr Antle. ‘Suryia will take Roscoe for walks around the enclosure and even feeds him some of his monkey biscuits. When they are both feeling a little lazy they will go for a ride on the back of Bubbles, our 27-year-old African elephant.’

Myrtle Beach Safari is a great side trip when staying at The Winds and any money they take in is used to help the animals at the preserve.

This video shows how Suryia the orangutan and Roscoe the dog met and became best friends. The story was featured on “Oprah” and will be also be on National Geographic Channel’s show “Odd Couples” this fall.
Click here for Google Map showing location of Myrtle Beach Safari