A zoo in North Dakota has a special musician in its midst — Tal, the orangutan.
Tal lives at the Chahinkapa Zoo, where his handlers learned of his fondness for classical music. The New York Kammermusiker, a wind ensemble founded by North Dakota native Ilonna Pederson, learned about Tal's affinity for classical music and started to send its CDs for him to listen to.
For the past four years, the performers have made the trip to the zoo in Wahpeton, N.D., to perform for — and with — the classical music fan.
A recorder player himself, Tal has played with the New York Kammermusiker musicians at their concerts. A video that has recently gone viral shows Tal playing along with the musicians.
"It touches an emotional chord that I think is there," Jeffrey Hale, a member of the ensemble, told WDAY News. "We never give animals credit for having feelings, but I'm pretty sure that they do."
Watch Tal's performance below:
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