Woman is groped and kissed by Orangutan after he approached her in a Zoo

A young woman who visited a zoo in Thailand received the shock of her life when an overly-friendly orangutan took the bold step to grope and kiss her.

Angel Orangelor, 27, was on a tour to the zoo on August 15, when the primate placed its hands on her cleavage then pulled her towards himself before planting a kiss on her cheek. The great ape then flashed a toothy grin to amused tourists while posing in front of his charge's friends.

Angel, who was visiting the park while on holiday, said: “The orangutan was just trying to show me some love. He looked very cute. He didn't hurt me and he was being friendly.”

“My friends thought it was funny. We had a real bond.”

Angel was visiting the Bangkok's Safari World on a trip with friends when the incident happened.

Her friend Fran said: “The last moment where you're looking at him and he was sticking out his tongue, is so precious.”

Another pal added: “He knows he can't get into trouble for doing this, that's why he's laughing.”

The same orangutan pulled a similar stunt on June 27, when he sidled up behind a visitor and cupped her breasts, before grinning and kissing her cheek.

Onlooker Dararat Suwanmai, 24, said of the incident: “I burst out laughing when I realised what the woman was doing. He was such a friendly creature.”

Orangutans are generally non-violent to humans, although it's unclear whether the the ones in the zoo were trained to perform the act, or were doing so of their own volition.

They are among the least aggressive great apes, but are extremely strong and have a bite force close to that of a lion. Any tourist willing to interact physically with an orangutan is at risk of serious harm.

Orangutan which literally means “man of the forest” in Malay language typically lives for 30-40 years in the wild. Although those in captivity are known to live even longer.

They are the largest tree-dwelling mammals in the world, and are the only great ape to live primarily among the trees.

They are very intelligent and are able to master the use of a variety of tools to construct sleeping nests from branches and leaves.

In the wild they play a key role in seed dispersal throughout the forest.

However, incredibly low reproduction rates in recent years off the back of deforestation, poachers and the illegal pet trade have led to a drastic decline in the wild orangutan population.

At one time the animals could be found throughout south east Asia, but now there are only a few hundred thousand found living in the wild of Borneo and Sumatra, and all three species of orangutan are critically endangered.