A Painting by Xiaohei

Check out this painting by Xiaohei:

It was rendered by an orangutan (Scientific name: Pongo) from the Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo in China's Jiangsu Province. 

Shen Zhijun, the zoo director said: "These great apes share 96.4 percent of our genes. They are highly intelligent creatures. Once we taught them how to use a brush, they immediately mastered it".

Orangutans have experienced sharp population declines. A century ago, there were probably more than 230,000 orangutans in total, but the Bornean orangutan is now estimated at about 104,700 based on updated geographic range (Endangered) and the Sumatran about 7,500 (Critically Endangered). A third species, the Tapanuli orangutan has no more than 800 individuals in existence – making it the most endangered of all great apes. 

To ensure these orangutans do not abandon their natural ways, the Hongshan Forest Zoo has created rich, lush and varied environments to simulate the orangutans' stomping grounds. 

In fact, if you unfold a map of the Hongshan Forest Zoo, you can find that forest covers 85 percent of the zoo. Besides the orangutans, there are more than 260 species of animals living there. 

Back when he took office in 2008, Shen began observing the animals almost every day. He discovered that many of them were displaying signs of anxiety and depression as their restricted life took a toll on them. 

In fact, psychological distress in zoo animals is so common that it has its own name: Zoochosis. 

From Shen's point of view, "a free environment" is of the upmost importance. He initiated a major revamp of the zoo, where the traditional "pit-style" displays of the animals were mostly abandoned in favor of "immersive enjoyment". The zoo authorities built replicas of their domains – and in the case of the orangutans, this triggered their instinctive memories to climb trees and build nests, for example. 

Shen expressed his disagreement with animal protection advocates who have called for the release of all animals in zoos into the wild. He described it as "completely unscientific nonsense", as some animals' habitats no longer exist due to the destruction of their home turf. 

"Letting them out is harming them", he contended. 

The greatest value of a zoo, he said is to do everything possible to create an environment for these animals to retain their wildness, so that we learn more about them as well as gain awareness on the importance of animal conservation. 

What's more, "if zoos can play an active role in the rejuvenation of endangered species, and if the wild habitat permits, there is a real opportunity for these animals to replenish the wild population", asserted Shen.